ATURE 


***«  ******* 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


"4 


Section 


Shdf 


The  Gospel  in  Nature 


A    SERIES    OF    POPULAR    DISCOURSES    ON    SCRIPTURE 
TRUTHS  DERIVED  FROM 


Facts  in   Nature 


By  HENRY  C.  McCOOK,  D.  D. 


Author  of  "The  Agricultural  Ant  of  Texas  " 

"  The  Honey  and  Occident  Ants" 

"  Tenants  of  an  Old  Farm  " 

Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 


new  YORK  : 
WILBUR  B.  KETCHAM. 

71    BIBLE    HOUSE. 


Copyright,  1887,  bj  Henry  c.  McCo«k. 


TO   MY   WIFE, 

EMMA  HERTER   McCOOK, 

who  has  shared  with  me 

alike  the  lights  and  shadows 

of  a  quarter  century 

of  married  life, 

this  book 

is  lovingly  dedicated 

as  a  memorial  of  our  common 

Jubilee  Birth-Year. 


PREFACE. 


For  many  years  it  has  been  the  author's  custom  to  preach  a 
series  of  Sunday  afternoon  discourses  on  special  themes.  In  the 
selection  and  treatment  of  these  subjects  he  has  used  a  larger  lib- 
erty, and  taken  a  wider  range  than  is  usually  allowed  in  the  ordi- 
nary sermon.  The  following  book  is  the  outgrowth  of  this  custom, 
as  was  also  the  writer's  last  work,  "The  Women  Friends  of  Jesus." 
The  church  which  he  serves  happens  to  be  located  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  is  therefore  within 
easy  reach  of  a  great  number  of  students,  especially  in  the  depart- 
ments of  medicine,  biology,  dental  and  veterinary  surgery.  With 
a  view  in  great  part  to  attract  and  influence  for  good  this  company 
of  young  men,  the  discourses  on  the  "Gospel  in  Nature"  were 
preached. 

It  will  be  observed  that  they  are  based  almost  entirely  upon 
atmospheric  phenomena,  and  the  lessons  presented  are  largely 
illustrated  by  natural  imagery.  Every  lecture  was  introduced  by 
a  prelude  giving  a  simple  explanation  of  the  natural  facts  or  phe- 
nomena chosen  as  a  symbol.  This  treatment  in  itself  proved  not 
only  attractive  to  many  who  are  eager  to  obtain  such  knowledge 
of  nature,  but  was  calculated  to  give  all  hearers  a  more  intelligent 
understanding  of  the  spiritual  truths  conveyed ;  for  it  is  obvious 
that  a  parable  or  metaphor  drawn  from  nature  cannot  be  fully 
apprehended  without  a  knowledge  of  the  natural  drapery  of  the 
thought.  A  popular  style  of  presenting  the  matter  in  hand  was, 
of  course,  necessary  before  a  popular  audience  ;  and  this  style  has 
been  preserved  in  the  printed  lectures. 

In  the  course  of  the  twenty  lectures  here  published  many  of  the 
living  questions  of  this  era  are  introduced  and  more  or  less  freely 
considered.  They  are  not  treated  in  a  controversial  spirit ;  indeed, 
at  times  they  are  barely  alluded  to  in  direct  terms  ;  but  those  truths 
and  arguments  are  presented  which  have  been  thought  best  calcu- 
lated to  prevent  or  clear  away  doubts  engendered  by  misleading 
lights  of  science,  literature  or  art.  In  short,  the  author  has  sought 
to  avoid  that  treatment  which,  in  dealing  with  the  religious  difficul- 
ties that  earnest,  candid  and  thoughtful  minds   are  required  to 

(5) 


6  PREFACE. 

so  magnifies  the  statement  of  the  difficulty  in  order  to  an- 
swer it.  that  the  objection  rather  than  the  explanation  remains, 
and  doubt  is  crystallized  rather  than  dissolved. 

T-  n  of  these  lectures  were  issued,  one  every  week  as  delh 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Men's  Church  Asso<  iation  of  the 
Tabemade  Church.  The  enterprise  was  attempted  with  a  view  of 
furnishing  religious  reading  especially  to  invalids,  the  .i,A<--<~\.  and 
others  detained  from  Sunday  worship  and  instruction,  as  well  as 
rsons  who  do  not  habitually  attend  church  services.  It  was 
successful  beyond  ex  ,  as  a  large  number  of  copies  was 

thus  distributed  as  current  literature.      It  is  hoped  that  readers 
wb  i  have  fallen  in  with  those  occasional  issues  may  wish  to  pi 
the  entire  series  in  this  book  form. 

The  Bible  If  a  creation  of  the  Divine  Spirit  by  the 

profound  sympathy  which  it  has  with  physical  nature.  On  the 
other  hand  Nature  shows  the  traces  <>f  her  Creator's  touch  by  the 
readiness  with  which  she  yields  up  her  every  form  and  force  to  be 
the  drapery  and  sign  of  spiritual  truths.     Nature  is  God's 

The  undevout  eye  may  read  the  title,  finger 
the  covers,  scan  the  title-page,  the  frontispiece,  the  pictures,  may 
even  con  some  of  the  broader  script ;  but  it  needs  a  devout  mind 
is  to  drink  in  the  hidden  meanings,  to  come 
into  very  spiritual  communion  with  the  Divine  Author's  most  holy, 
vital  and  vitalizing  thoughts. 

That   is  why  those  holy  men   of  old,  who  spake  as   they  were 

'.  by  the  Holy  •  .host   in  their  moments  of  inspiration,  read 

religious  lessons  in  the  sky,  the  sea,  the  earth,  stars,  Bowers  and 

birds,  in   leaf,  cloud   and  murmuring  brook,   in   mountain,  storm 

an  I  snow-crystal ;   "found  books  in  the  running  brooks,  sermons 

rything."    There  is  no  nature-book  so 

:  of  <  '■•  'd.     The  auth(  >r 

forth  this  volume  with  the  earnest  wish  that  it  may  bring  to  a  feu 

of  his  fellow-men  some  n  continuation  of  this  truth  .  •; 

'  ition. 
Tin:  M  \ 

'.  rsRiAN  Chi  r<  h, 
Philadelphia,  July  jd,  A.  D.  . 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Lecture  I. — God  as  Force       9 

Lecture  II. — Mist,  or  Vapor  of  Water 25 

Lecture  III. — The  Dew  :   God's  Silent  Blessings 41 

Lecture  IV. — The  Dew  of  Hermon 59 

Lecture  V. — Hail  :   God's  Reserves  of  War 77 

Lecture  VI.— Snow  Crystals  :    God  as  Geometer 99 

Lecture  VII.— Snow  Beds:   The  Uses  of  Adversity    ...  117 
Lecture  VIII.— Snow-Whiteness  :  The  Glory  of  Christ    .    .  135 

Lecture  IX.— Snow-Purity  :  Human  Perfection 157 

Lecture  X.— The  Rainfall 177 

Lecture  XL— Showers  of  Blessing 197 

Lecture  XII.— The  Bow  in  the  Cloud 213 

Lecture  XIII.— The  Rainbow  Around  the  Throne  ....  235 

Lecture  XIV. — The  Angel  and  the  Rainbow 255 

Lecture  XV. — Lessons  from  the  Spring 277 

Lecture  XVI.— The  Birth  of  the  Flowers 295 

Lecture  XVII. — Beautiful  Flowers  and  Tender  Grapes    .    .  309 

Lecture  XVIII.— The  Salt  of  the  Earth 331 

Lecture  XIX. — A  Man's  Natural  Right  to  Own  Land  .    .    .  349 
Lecture  XX. — May  a  Christian  Own  Land  ? 367 


LECTURE  I. 


God  as  Force. 

"  The  blessed  and  Only  Potentate,  * 

to  whom  be  power  eternal." — I.  Tim.  vi.  15. 


GOD  AS  FORCE. 


A  critical  study  of  the  New  Testament  uncovers  evi- 
dence of  the  existence  of  hymns  in  the  primitive  church. 
The  Magnificat,  the  Benedictus,  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis, 
the  Nunc  Dimittis  of  Simeon  were  outbursts  of  song 
which  mark  the  very  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  The 
new  spirit  of  praise  thus  manifest  doubtless  expressed 
itself  at  an  early  period  in  new  forms,  although  we  know 
that  the  ancient  Psalms  which  had  voiced  the  worship 
of  the  Church  through  so  many  ages  were  by  no  means 
set  aside.     Among  the  indications  of  early  hymns  pre- 
sented by  the  New  Testament  is  the  passage  of  which 
our  text  forms  a  part.     It  is  thought  to  be  an  ancient 
doxology  used  separately  or  attached   to  some  hymn. 
We  can  better  perceive  the  justice  of  this  opinion,  per- 
haps, by  presenting  the  passage  in  this  form : — 
The  blessed  and  only  Potentate 
The  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords, 
Who  only  hath  immortality, 
Dwelling  in  light  unapproachable, 
Whom  no  man  hath  seen  nor  can  see, 
To  whom  be  honor  and  power  eternal. 
Amen ! 
This  ancient  hymn  or  confession  expresses  a  truth 
which  when  illustrated  by  the  facts  of  Nature  transcends 
the  utmost  flight  of  fancy.     I  can  therefore  hope  to  be 
only  partially  successful  in  the  purpose  thus  to  present  it. 

I.  God  is  the  supreme  Force  of  the  universe,  the  sov- 
ereign Potentate. 

Jehovah  is  the  supreme  Lord.  Such  is  the  voice  of 
Scripture.  God  is  the  Almighty  One ;  "  a  mighty  for- 
tress is  our  God."*     The  Pagans  were  not  unmindful  of 

*  "Ein  feste  Burg  ist  Unser  Gott." — Luther's  Hymn. 

(ii) 


12  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

tlii ^  fact,  for  the  Jupiter  or  Jove  of  ancient  Latins  and 
Greeks,  the  Thor  of  the  Norseman  with  his  mighty 
thunder  hammer,  were  expressions  to  the  men  of  past 
of  the  truth  that  there  is  above  all  gods  and  all 
.ukI  forms  of  Nature  some  one  being,  some  one 
power  who  is  entitled  to  the  supreme  place. 

The  truth  thus  dimly  seen  by  the  Gentiles,  the  Jews 
rned  fully.  Their  Lord  was  the  Almighty.  Their 
theology  is  transmitted  to  the  Christian  Church  which 
equally  believes  in  the  all-potency  of  the  Divine  Being, 
and  puts  at  the  very  front  of  its  creed  the  article  "I 
believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty." 

F.  Our  first  natural  illustration  of  this  truth  we  shall 
take  from  one  of  the  most  familiar  objects — water.  This 
element  consists  <>f  two  permanent  gases  condensed  by 
the   force  of   chemical   affinity  to  the  liquid  condition. 

>f  the  gases  is  oxygenj  the  other  united  with  it  in 
double  proportion  is  hydrogen!  Hydrogen  is  a  com- 
bustible gas  fourteen  and  a  half  times  lighter  than  air — 
one   of  the  lightest   forms  of  matter  known.     A  cubic 

•f  water  is  equal  to  eighteen  hundred  cubic  feet  of 
a  mixture  of  these  gases.  How  has  that  mixture  been 
accomplished  and  how  is  it  maintained?  The  answer 
to  these  questions  introduces  •  us  to  the  fact  that  these 
two  constituents  of  water  so  persistently  retain  their 
aerial  condition  that  it  requires  a  pressure  of  twenty 
tons  to  the  square  inch  to  reduce  them  to  the  liquid 
state.  Can  you  conceive  of  so  immense  a  force  as  this 
—  forty  thousand  pounds  to  the  square  inch  ?  It  requires 
all   the  mechanical    skill   p  i   by  man   to  apply  it 

very  drop  of  water   upon   the   face   of  the  earth   is 

held  in  the  liquid  state  by  such  a  pressure  as  this.    How 
is  itheld?     What— WHO  holdsit?    To  strengthen 
illustration  let  us  compare  force  with  f 

Water  is  e.isily  decomposed  by  electricity,  What 
amount  of  thi  rwould  be  equal  to  force  apart  the 

constituent  gases  of  water  ? 

lished  philosopher  (and  he  was  a  Christian 
philosopher),  Prof  Michael  Faraday,  proved  that  it  re- 
quires more  electricil'  i   single   drop   of 


GOD  AS  FORCE.  13 

water  than  to  cliarge  a  thunderbolt.  If  we  reverse  the 
proposition,  therefore,  we  shall  see  that  the  pressure 
required  to  hold  the  gaseous  constituents  of  water  in  their 
liquid  state  is  equal  to  as  many  times  the  force  of  elec- 
tricity contained  within  a  thunderbolt  as  there  are  drops 
in  the  water  itself.*  In  the  face  of  this  fact  think  of  the 
ocean  reaching  to  great  depths  and  covering  three-fourths 
of  the  surface  of  the  globe.  Think  of  that  atmospheric 
ocean — the  water  contained  in  vapor  forever  held  in  sus- 
pense in  the  air  above  us.  Think  of  the  water  which 
goes  to  make  up  in  large  proportion  all  living  things  in 
the  animal  and  vegetable  world.  So  thinking,  will  you 
stop  to  raise  the  question — nay,  our  question  must  be 
simply  an  exclamation — what  powet,  what  infinite  power 
is  here  expressed  ! 

2.  Our  second  illustration  is  the  atmosphere,  or  rather 
the  play  of  forces  by  which  its  physical  condition  is 
compelled.  Two  mighty  forces  are  continually  acting 
thereon.  The  one  is  heat,  which  tends  to  expand  it  and 
force  it  like  an  unbent  coil  into  surrounding  space.  The 
other  force  is  gravitation,  which  grasps  the  atmosphere 
and  holds  it  to  the  surface  of  the  earth.  These  two 
opposing  forces  are  so  balanced  that  they  maybe  said  to 
be  held  in  equilibrium,  and  few  persons  would  suspect 
the  vastness  of  either  one. 

Let  us  take  the  simple  experiment  which  most  students 
have  made  or  seen  made  with  Torricelli's  tube,  and  from 
its  results  make  these  calculations.  The  pressure  of  the 
atmosphere  on  one  man  is  equal  to  sixteen  tons — thirty- 
two  thousand  pounds.f  The  pressure  of  the  atmosphere 
upon  this  church  is  much  more  than  the  weight  of  the 
building  itself.  The  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  upon 
one  square  mile  of  the  earth's  surface  is  over  twenty-six 
millions  of  tons.  The  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  on 
the  entire  State  of  Pennsylvania  with  its  forty-six  thou- 
sand square  miles  is  equal  to  two  million  three  hundred 
and  ninety-two  thousand  millions  of  pounds,  or  in  other 


*Cooke — "Religion   and    Chemistry,"   page   159.     t  Fourteen 
tons,  A.  Buchan — Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  art.  Atmosphere. 


14  THE  G(  >SPEL  FN  X.  1  Tl  TRR 

words  two  quadrillions  three  hundred  and  ninety-two 
trillions  of  pounds. 

This  is  the  work  that  gravity  does  in  the  whole  v. 
upon  the  elements  of  the  atmosphere  alone. 

Now  consider  the  power  that  balances  all  this.    What 

15  it  ?  The  sun's  heat ;  the  force  that  is  lodged  in  sun- 
beams. How  softly  they  fell  I  How  they  brighten  the 
face  of  Nature  !  1  low  gladly  wc  welcome  them  as  they 
steal  gently  through  the  window  glass  to  sweeten  and 
cheer  the  frosty  brow  of  winter,  or  Rood  the  fields  and 
hills  to  gladden  and  enrich  the  soft  days  of  spring. 
What  gentle  things  they  are!  How  noiselessly  they 
fall !     Yet  all  this  force  is  lodged  within  their  touch. 

Attempt  now  to  bring  together  in  imagination  all  the 
energies  acting  at  one  moment  on  the  earth,  and  unite 
them  in  one  tremendous  aggregate.  Begin  with  the 
power  of  the  air  expressed  in  all  its  motions  from  the 
tornado  to  the  zephyr.  Next  think  of  the  force  of  elec- 
tricity with  its  phenomena  of  lightning  and  thunder,  and 
those  heretofore  hidden  stores  which  modern  pin 
science  has  brought  to  light  and  enlisted  in  the  service 
of  man.  Think  next  of  the  mechanical  power  expressed 
in  the  flow  of  waters,  in  streams  and  rivers,  in  cascades, 
and  Falls  of  Niagara,  in  ocean  currents,  in  the  sluggish 
creeping  of  the  glacier  and  the  swift  crash  of  the  ava- 
lanche. 

Think  again  of  those  forces  at  work  in  vegetable  and 
animal  life;  such  for  example   as  lift  up  might}'  forests 
above  the  earth   and  hold  them   there.     Think  again  of 
the   force  of  fire,  so  terrible  in  our  experience  when   it 
s  upon  our  homes  or  business  pla<  weeps  un- 

restrained through  vast  cities.  Think  of  the  force  of 
powder,  or  steam,  or  dynamite,  which,  however,  are  but 
insignificant  things  compared  with  the  rest.  Think  of 
every  other  known  and  conceivable  power,  then  make  all 
the  allowance  that  you  (  ho<  ise  for  discount  of  your  cl 
calculations  and  sum  them  all  up.  Let  us  see  what  part 
of  the  whole  by  reasonable  calculation  and  estimate  they 

may  express. 

This — one  two  thousand  three  hundred   millionth  i  f 
the  force  which  the  sun  is  every  moment  pouring  into 


GOD  AS  FORCE.  1 5 

space.*  In  other  words,  divide  the  force  of  the  sun  into 
two  thousand  three  hundred  million  parts — all  these 
vast  powers  which  you  have  attempted  to  set  in  array- 
before  your  imagination  would  be  equal  simply  to  one 
of  those  parts. 

That  would  seem  to  be  enough.  Imagination  falters. 
Thought  staggers  in  vain  endeavor  to  conceive  of  such 
power.  But  we  must  not  stop  here.  We  have  but 
placed  our  feet  upon  the  outer  steps  leading  to  the 
threshold  of  the  realm  of  facts  that  lie  beyond.  For, 
what  is  the  sun  ?  A  small  star  in  the  infinitude  of 
space  !  Yet  the  grand  total  of  the  powers  streaming 
from  all  the  suns  seen  in  our  night  sky  and  undiscover- 
ed in  its  stellar  deeps  alone  represents  the  active  energy 
of  the  universe. 

What  is  that  energy  ?  God, — The  very  Power  of  God 
acting  in  all  action. f     God — the  Will  of  GOD.| 

There  is  now  present  in  this  country  a  welcome  visitor, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  British  naturalists,  Mr. 
Alfred  Russel  Wallace.  He  enjoys  the  unique  distinction 
of  being,  jointly  with  the  late  Mr.  Darwin,  the  inventor  of 
the  theory  of  natural  selection  as  applied  to  the  evolution 
of  species.  He  differs  from  Mr.  Darwin,  however,  in  one 
exception  which  he  makes  to  the  law  of  natural  selection. 
That  exception  is  the  most  notable  of  all  objects  in  the 
universe,  the  crown,  the  head  of  all — even  man  himself. 
Man,  Mr.  Wallace  thinks,  never  could  have  been  pro- 
duced by  those  evolutionary  laws  which  he  believes  to 
operate  in  the  production  of  all  the  lower  creatures. 
In  one  of  his  works,§  while  speaking  on  the  limits  of 
natural  selection  as  applied  to  man,  he  uses  these  words : 
"  All  force  is  probably  will-force."  "  Force  is  the  pro- 
duct of  mind."  In  leading  his  readers  up  to  the  thought 
that  the  mind,  out  of  which  all  force  is  originated,  is  the 
supreme  intelligence  whom  we  call  God,  he  alludes  to 
the  operation  of  the  human  will.  "  If  will  is  anything," 
he  says,  "  it  is  a  power  that  directs  the  action  of  forces 
stored  up  in  the  body,  and  it  is  not  conceivable  that  this 

*Cooke — "  Religion  and  Chemistry,"  page  304.  f  McCosh — 
"  Christianity  and  Positivism,"  page  15.  %  Prof.  Flint — "The- 
ism," page  112.     \  On  Natural  Selection,  page  366,  Sqq. 


1 6  THE  Gi  'SI'/:/.  IN  N 1  Tl  HE. 

direction  can   take  place  without   the   lm  n  ise   of  some 
te   part  of  the    organism.     In  the  animal 

machine,  hi  >w  ever  minute  may  be  the  changes  required  in 

the  cells  or  fibres  of  the  brain  to  set  in  motion  the  nerve 
currents  which  loosen  or  excite  the  pent-up  fore 
certain    muscles,  some  force  must  be  required  to  i 
those  changi 

In  other  words,  you  bend  your  arm.  The  supreme 
and  ultimate  power  which  compels  that  action  is  the 
human  will.  You  ilex  your  arm,  and  throw  it  out 
with  such  vigor  as  to  fell  to  the  ground  the  enemy, 
or  man,  who  would  assail  your  lffe.  The  ultimate 
power  compelling  that  action  is  the  human  will.  From 
such  analogy  Mr.  Wallace  rises  to  the  lesson  which  it 
seems  to  me,  by  fair  implication,  is  taught  in  our  text. 
I  quote  his  words  : — 

"If,  therefore,  we  have  traced  one  force,  however 
minute,  to  an  origin  in  our  will,  while  we  have  no 
knowledge  of  any  other  primary  cause  of  force,  it  docs 
not  seem  an  improbable  conclusion  that  all  force  may  be 
will-force;  and  thus  that  the  whole  universe  is  not 
merely  dependent  on,  but  actually  is,  the  will  of  higher 
intelligences  or  of  one  Supreme  Intelligence.  It  has  been 
often  .•-aid  that  the  true  poet  is  a  seer;  and  in  the  noble 
verse  of  an  American  poetess,  we  find  expressed  what 
may  prove  to  be  the  highest  fact  of  science,  the  noblest 
truth  of  philos.  iphy  :  " 

of  the  granite  and  the 

Soul  of  the  sparrow  and  tin-  !- 
'I'll--  mighty  tide  of  being  tl"\\  - 

Through  countless  channels,  Lord,  from  thee. 
It  leaps  t"  life  in  grass  .mil  Bow< 

Through  every  grade  "i  being  runs, 
While  from  creation's  radiant  towers 

Its  glory   BameS  in  stars  and  sun--. 

II.  Our  text  yet  another  truth,  viz.,  that  God  is 

the  blessed  a-  «  ell  .is  the  only  Potentate.     The  almighty 
is  the  Father  Almighty  I     The  supreme  power  in  whose 

hands  we  all  lie  is  a  power  of  supreme  benevolence. 

It  is  certain  that  Study  of  Nature's  works  opens  up 
to    us    from    many    quarters   tin-    truth    that    the    divine 


GOD  AS  FORCE.  1 7 

Overmind  and  controlling  Will  is  one  of  benevolence. 
God's  creatures  are,  for  the  most  part,  blessed.  But  the 
perfect  lesson  of  the  supreme  goodness  of  God  must  come 
to  us  from  other  sources  than  Nature.  The  truth  is,  Na- 
ture, in  some  of  its  phases,  fills  man  and  lower  creatures 
with  terror,  and  justly  so.  Storm,  tornado,  lightning, 
the  wild  lashing  of  sea  waves,  floods,  fire,  hail,  and  frost 
— these  are  in  the  aggregate  benevolent  forces,  but  alas! 
to  multitudes  of  individuals  they  bring  suffering  and 
death.  We  do  not  wonder  that  they  have  raised  in  the 
minds  of  untutored  man,  and  men  without  a  complete 
revelation  of  the  character  of  God,  the  suggestion  of 
hostility  and  malignity  in  the  character  of  Deity. 

This  thought  has  had  and  still  has  expression  in  the 
deities  of  pagan  nations.  Those  gods  are  gods  of  cru- 
elty and  revenge  too  often,  and  their  unhappy  devotees 
are  the  victims  of  terror,  which  through  all  their  lives 
they  seek  to  remove  by  placating  the  angry  powers 
above  and  around  them.  Men  who  have  derived  their 
theology  from  no  source  but  Nature,  have  personified  and 
deified  the  sternest  and  crudest  forces,  rather  than  the 
gentlest  and  most  benevolent.  At  least  such  gods  have 
been  most  honored  because  most  feared.  To  know  God 
as  he  is  we  must  turn  from  Nature  to  the  revealed  Word. 
The  Bible  supplements  the  book  of  creation.  When  we 
can  read  the  mighty  works  of  the  Supreme  Power  as  in- 
terpreted by  words  of  Hebrew  prophets  and  the  life  of 
the  Son  of  God,  then  and  only  then  can  we  see  the  force 
of  the  apostle's  title,  "the  blessed  Potentate." 

Travelers  inform  us  that  those  who  live  upon  the 
equator  command  at  night  a  view  of  both  the  stellar 
hemispheres.  In  our  latitude  we  see  the  northern  con- 
stellations led  by  the  "Great  Bear"  as  he  swings  upon 
his  ceaseless  rounds  about  the  polar  star.  In  the  south- 
ern hemisphere  men  gaze  upon  the  "  Southern  Cross." 
But  standing  at  the  equator  midway  between  the  two, 
the  eye  glances  northward  and  southward  alike,  sweeping 
over  the  whole  dome  of  heaven  from  the  Great  Bear  to 
the  Southern  Cross.  Even  thus  it  is  that  we  may  come 
to  that  line  in  the  history  of  human  redemption  that 
marks  for  us  the  advent  and   the   sacrifice  of  Christ. 


I S  THE  G(  >SPEL  TN  X.  I  Tl  "A/;. 

With  our  thought  upon  the  infinite  love  of  God  as 
expressed  in  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus,  we  are  enabled 
t<>  sweep  that  undivided  dome  of  truth  concerning  the 
character  of  God  which  leaves  him  upon  his  throne  an 
object  of  love.  Nature's  teachings  give  lis  one  vi 
the  hemisphere.  The  Old  Testament  Scriptures  and  hu- 
man theology  give  us  another  view  of  the  hemisphere. 
But  when  we  stand  with  Jesus  the  Christ  at  the  altar  of 
Golgotha  our  eye  covers  the  whole  expanse,  and  we 
know  that  the  dome  of  truth  is  one.  The  Lamb  is"  in  the 
midst  of  the  Throne!"     Benevolence  is  sovereign  still ! 

i.  Turning  then  to  the  inspired  word  for  lessons  which 
we  would  associate  with  our  natural  facts,  we  [carn,/irst, 

that  the  power  of  God  is  in  subjection  to  his  goodness. 
There  is  no  more  significant  text  in  all  Scripture,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  than  the  saying  of  St.  Paul,  "We  preach 
Christ  crucified — Christ  the  power  of  (]<>>' 

Wonderful  as  are  the  applications  of  power  in  nature, 
as  we  have  just  briefly  reviewed  them,  the  manifestation 
of  power  that  appears  in  the  life  and  death  oi  Jesus  is 
more  wonderful  still.  Take  your  seat  with  his  disciples 
on  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes,  and  listen  to  the  words 
of  Him  who  spake  as  never  man  spake.  The  scene  in 
seems  insignificant  enough,  an  assemblage  of  hum- 
ble people  in  a  remote  spot  of  a  remote  land,  a  conquered 
province.     Yetthese  words,  filling  softly  like  droj 

r,  have  carried  within  them  a  potency  beyond  the 
thought  of  man  t  ite.    They  have  subdued  and 

held  the  nations  of  mightiest  force.    They  have  regen- 

i  the  state,  have  permeatt  d  the  race.  Their  inher- 
ent power  has  borne  them  and  those  who  believed  them 
over  all  oppositioi  ietv;  all  persecutions  of  kings 

and    priests;  all   trials,  suffering,   and   ten  death. 

The  power  of  God  has  been  in  them,  the  very  migl 
manifestation  of  his  power,  that   which   lie-,   under  the 
spiritual  realm. 

On  your  stand  upon  the  summit  of  Mount 

Calvary.  Liftyoureyesto  the  central  cross  of  those  three 


*  I.  Corinthian 


COD  AS  FORCE.  1 9 

standing  there  in  the  midst  of  mailed  soldiers  of  iron 
Rome,  mocking  priests  of  Israel's  temple,  and  howling- 
citizens  of  Judah's  town.  Look  upon  the  pale  figure 
hanging  there !  His  thorn-crowned  head  is  bowed  upon 
his  pierced  breast;  his  hands  and  feet  are  bleeding  and 
distorted  with  wounds  of  nails  driven  by  hireling  soldiers. 
Could  anyone  seem  more  helpless  than  he?  He  is  dead! 
Yet  that  silent  figure,  issuing  from  the  tomb  in  which 
loving  hands  had  laid  him,  stands  to-day  regnant  over 
those  nations  of  the  world  who  are  mightiest  in  all  ele- 
ments of  human  force,  and  lifts  aloft  the  emblem  of  the 
accursed  tree  on  which  he  died  as  the  sign  of  the  faith 
of  millions.  This  is  "  Christ  crucified — Christ  the  power 
of  God." 

Reasoning  from  any  standpoint  of  human  philoso- 
phy, I  do  not  know  how  it  is  that  a  life  and  death  such 
as  this  should  have  had  results  so  wonderful.  But  when 
I  turn  to  the  blessed  book  of  God,  and  reverently  accept 
the  lesson  written  there  that  he  who  thus  lived,  spoke, 
and  died  was  not  man  simply,  but  bore  within  himself 
the  power  of  the  invisible  God;  when  I  read  that  he  sits 
now  in  glory  at  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  on  high, 
to  command  in  behalf  of  his  Church  and  people  every 
force  among  men,  and  if  need  be,  every  force  in  nature, 
I  can  understand  the  secret  of  his  triumph.  It  issues 
from  the  source  of  infinite  power,  for  he  who  controls  it 
is  Christ — the  power  of  God.  Great  as  are  the  marvels 
which  divine  force  in  nature  accomplishes,  greater  still 
are  those  which  in  the  name  of  Jesus  are  won  from  erring 
hearts,  and  blinded  minds,  and  perverted  spirits,  and 
wayward  passions,  and  wicked  intents  of  the  race  of 
men. 

2.  A  second  lesson  which  we  derive  from  our  subject 
is  that  the  noblest  use  of  power  is  the  rescue  of  the 
weak  and  support  of  the  true.  What  an  inspiring  view 
of  divine  character  is  that  uncovered  to  us  through  the 
words  of  Isaiah  !  (lvii.  15.)  "  For  thus  saith  the  High  and 
Lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy : 
I  dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place,  with  him  also  that  is 
of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of 


20  THE  GOSPEL  IX  .X ATI 'RE. 

the  humble,  and  to  revive  the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones." 
This  God,  whose  infinitude  of  power  we  have  dimly 
pictured  to  our  thought  by  its  manifestations  in  the 
natural  world,  who  inhabiteth  immensity  and  through 
all  his  lofty  seats  exerts  his  eternal  strength,  this  is  He 
who  stoops  from  the  throne  of  his  power  to  dwell  in 
the  humblest  seat  of  human  weakness,  the  heart  of  a 
penitent  sinner. 

The  same  truth  is  no  less  significantly  revealed  to  us 
in  the  fortieth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  where  the  divine  strength 
is  depicted  in  words  of  striking  beauty  and  faithfulness. 
"  Who  hath  measured  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand  and  meted  out  heaven  with  a  span,  and  compre- 
hended the  dust  of  the  earth  in  scales,  and  weighed  the 
mountains  in  scales  and  the  hills  in  a  balance  ?  "  "  It  is 
he  who  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth  and  the  in- 
habitants thereof  are  as  grasshoppers;  that  stretcheth 
out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain  and  spreadeth  them  out  as 
a  tent  to  dwell  in.  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high  and  see 
who  hath  created  these,  that  bringeth  out  their  host  by 
number  :  He  calleth  them  all  by  name  ;  by  the  greatness 
of  his  might,  and  for  that  he  is  strong  in  power,  not  one 
is  lacking."  Think  of  that!  God  likened  to  a  shepherd 
leading  out  the  stars  as  one  would  lead  forth  his  sheep, 
tamed  to  subjection  and  every  one  known  and  named  ! 

What  is  the  purpose  of  this  sublime  picturing  of  the 
infinite  power  of  the  Creator?  It  is  this,  and  mark  the 
lesson  well!  (verse  29):  "  He  giveth  power  to  the  faint, 
and  to  him  that  hath  no  might  he  increaseth  strength. 
Even  the  youths  shall  faint  and  be  weary  and  the  young 
men  shall  utterly  fall,  but  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord 
shall  renew  their  strength;  the}'  shall  mount  up  with 
wings  as  eagles,  they  shall  run  and  not  weary,  they  shall 
walk  and  not  faint." 

Well  may  the  feeble  ones,  the  faint-hearted  and  weak- 
lings of  this  our  world  of  sorrows,  rejoice  that  He  who  is 
almighty  has  pledged  his  power  to  a  purpose  such  as  this. 
Would  that  I  could  persuade  all  such  to  come  this  day 
with  their  burdens  and  lay  them  down  at  his  feet ! 

"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest." 


GOD  AS  FORCE.  21 

What  a  lesson  in  practical  duty  is  suggested  to  us  by 
these  teachings  !  Do  you  possess  strength  in  any  of  its 
many  forms  ?  Strength  of  body,  financial  strength, 
social  strength,  intellectual  power  ?  What  is  the  noblest 
use  to  which  you  can  put  it  ? 

The  learned  Egyptologist,  Eber,*  puts  these  noble 
words  upon  the  lips  of  Rameses,  the  ancient  Pharaoh : 
"  The  only  real  divine  attribute  of  our  royal  condition  is 
that  it  is  so  easy  for  a  king  to  make  men  happy."  The 
men  and  women  of  strength  are  the  kings  and  queens  of 
this  modern  world  of  ours.  Let  them  see  to  it  that  they 
are  not  wanting  in  that  divine  element  of  strength  which 
brings  to  the  sorrowful  and  weak  the  boon  of  happiness 
and  the  gift  of  help.  Thus  shall  they  enter  into  the  life 
of  and  be  yoke-fellows  together  with  him  who  is  the 
blessed  Potentate. 

3.  Again,  it  is  within  the  boundary  of  this  thought  to 
suggest  that  in  all  the  exercise  of  divine  power  of  which 
we  have  spoken  there  is  no  waste  of  energy.  Economy 
in  the  use  of  forces  is  certainly  a  law  of  nature.  Would 
that  man  might  learn  this  lesson  !  Much  human  energy 
in  Church,  in  philanthropic  endeavor,  in  political  life  is 
simply  wasted.  It  is  wasted  not  merely  because  misdi- 
rected, but  because  it  is  without  direction  and  regulation. 
There  is  scarce  a  gift  of  Nature,  so  lavish  of  noblest  re- 
sources to  this  young  land,  that  we  do  not  use  like  the 
veriest  spendthrifts.  We  foolishly  and  mercilessly  hew 
down  our  forests,  wasting  far  more  than  we  use.  We 
exhaust  our  fat  soils  with  reckless  disregard  of  the  fu- 
ture. Thus  it  is  through  all  the  circle  of  our  national 
domain.  It  is  true  as  well  in  the  domain  of  intellectual 
and  religious  forces.  We  are  prodigal  in  their  expen- 
diture to  a  fault.  Our  social  life  is  so  ordered  that  we 
drink  up  the  streams  of  vitality  as  "  Behemoth  "  the 
rivers.  We  spend  young  lives  by  scores  of  thousands, 
casting  them  away  as  freely  as  the  Canaanites  of  old 
offered  them  in  sacrifice  to  Moloch.  This  is  a  deplorable 
condition  of  society!     Is  there  no  remedy  for  it?     Will 


*  Uarda,  By  Geo.  Eber. 


77/A'  G(  >S /'/■:/.  IN  X.  I  TL  'RE. 

we  never  learn  to  treasure  the  noblest  gifts  of  nature, 
those  high  faculties  and  forces  which  beat  within  the 
I  of  man  himself?  We  deplore  the  waste  of  forests 
and  fields,  and  it  is  sad  enough.  But  sadder  far  than 
this  is  the  waste  of  which  I  speak,  because  utterly  irrepar- 
able. We  must  learn  to  distinguish  between  wise  activ- 
ity and  wasteful  action.  We  must  learn  that  hurry  is 
not  always  haste;  that  bustle  is  not  business.  That  the 
ceaseless  go,  and  run,  and  racing  over  life's  highway; 
the  grinding  of  our  faculties  in  the  noisy  mills  of  human 
excitement  and  occupations,  do  not  necessarily  add  to 
the  force  of  our  character  or  the  effectiveness  of  our  toil. 
Men  may  be  forceful  without  being  fussy. 

1,  who  is  always  self-poised,  for  the  most  part  is 
silent;  his  mightiest  forces  are  voiceless.  Work!  work 
all  you  can,  but  learn  from  God  the  lesson  to  work  with- 
out waste. 

How  shall  I  speak  of  that  mournful  waste  of  life's 
powers  which  goes  on  daily  among  the  victims  of  intem- 
perance and  lust?  The  heart  grows  heavy  with  grief  as 
one  passes  by  the  numerous  tippling-shops  in  this 
city,  and  remembers  that  those  doors  which  swing  out- 
ward into  our  streets,  open  inward  upon  the  gates  of  hell. 
And  through  them  are  continually  drawn  into  the  fires 
of  death  the  noblest  force  of  our  fair  town — our  youth 
and  strong  men.  Oh,  how  pitiful  I  Mighty  God,  have 
mercy!  Make  bare  thine  arm  and  stay  this  awful 
waste ! 

4.  There  is  a  final  lesson  which  we  associate  witli  the 
teaching  of  our  text.  A  lesson  without  which  all  others 
will  avail  nothing.  We  know  the  almighty  power  ^i 
God.  We  know  the  willingness  of  God  both  in  the 
physical  and  spiritual  world  to  extend  that  power  to 
help  man.  Let  us  know  also  th.it  that  help  is  extended 
through  channels  which  are  fixed  by  immutable  law. 

lie  who  would   sail    his    ships  across   the    sea  calls  to 

his  aid  in  one  form  or  another  th<  of  nature.     If 

he  would  spread  his  snowy  sails  to  the  winds  of  heaven 
that  their  force  may  bear  his  cargo  to  a  desired  haven, 

he    must    seek    those    parallels    along    which    the    trade 


GOD  AS  FORCE.  23 

winds  blow.  In  other  words,  he  must  conform  his  hu- 
man machinery  and  action  to  the  laws  which  regulate 
the  forces  which  he  would  utilize  for  his  good.  If  he 
would  sail  his  vessel  by  steam  he  must  conform  his 
machinery  to  the  laws  which  regulate  the  force  and  the 
application  of  force  expressed  by  that  mighty  motor. 

You  have  heard  men  speak  of  chaining  lightning  and 
making  it  a  servant  to  man's  will.  The  figure  is  based 
in  part  upon  a  truth ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  he  who 
would  chain  lightnings  must  first  chain  himself.  In 
other  words,  if  electricity  is  to  be  made  a  servant  of 
man,  man  must  conform  himself  to  those  laws  imposed 
by  the  almighty  Will-force  upon  that  physical  force 
which  man  seeks  to  utilize  for  his  advantage.  Men 
never  think  otherwise  in  their  relations  to  natural  forces 
in  all  lines  of  mechanics  and  commerce.  Should  they 
not  remember  this  also  when  they  enter  the  domain 
of  spiritual  forces?  Are  there  no  laws  fixed  for  the 
moral  direction  of  man  ?  Are  there  no  laws  imposed 
upon  man  for  the  accomplishment  of  salvation  ?  Surely 
there  are !  They  are  written  for  us  in  the  holy  pages  of 
the  inspired  Scripture,  and  to  these  we  must  bow  our- 
selves if  we  would  be  lifted  by  the  hand  of  God  into  the 
immortality  of  the  blessed. 

It  is  the  law  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  that  without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  God.  It  is  a  law  of  the 
spiritual  kingdom  that  whosoever  believeth  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  shall  be  saved.  Faith  and  righteousness, 
these  are  channels  along  which  runs  for  man  that  al- 
mighty power  which  shall  bear  him  in  the  end  to  eternal 
glory.  Outside  of  these  channels  no  man  dare  hope  for 
redemption.  Though  he  stand  upon  the  very  brink,  and 
be  able  to  dip  his  finger  in  the  full  flowing  stream  of  sav- 
ing help,  if  he  step  not  in  and  yield  himself  to  the  pow- 
er appointed  for  his  rescue,  he  must  stand  in  his  chosen 
place — unsaved  !  Sinful  man,  step  into  the  channel ! 
Yield  thee  to  God's  laws  of  grace.  Believe  !  Obey  ! — 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 


LECTURE  II. 


Mist,  or  Vapor  of  Water. 

"  For  what  is  your  life?  It  is  even  a  vapor,  that 
appear eth  for  a  little  while,  and  then  vanisheth  away." 
— James  iv.  14. 


MIST,  OR  VAPOR  OF  WATER. 


Vapor  of  water,  mist  or  fog  are  common  names  for  the 
natural  phenomenon  which  supplies  the  symbolism  for 
the  spiritual  lessons  of  this  discourse. 

A  determined  volume  of  air — a  cubic  foot,  for  example, 
at  a  given  temperature  has  the  property  of  receiving  cer- 
tain quantities  of  vapor  of  water  in  an  invisible  state,  or 
as  it  is  called,  humidity.  When  it  contains  all  the  hu- 
midity it  is  capable  of  receiving  it  is  said  to  be  saturated. 
If  then  the  temperature  be  increased  the  atmosphere  will 
hold  more  vapor.  If  the  temperature  be  lowered,  the 
capacity  for  containing  vapor  is  diminished  and  a  part 
thereof  will  be  condensed,  appearing  within  the  atmos- 
phere in  the  form  of  fog  or  mist,  or  will  be  precipitated 
as  dew,  rain,  or  frost,  according  to  the  degree  of  cold  and 
consequent  condensation.  The  moist  air  is,  in  fact,  like 
a  sponge  filled  with  water,  which  if  it  be  squeezed  by 
pressure  of  any  sort  will  yield  up  a  portion  of  its  con- 
tents.* This  pressure  upon  the  atmosphere  is  supplied 
by  various  causes,  principally  the  presence  and  absence 
of  heat. 

The  air  surrounding  the  earth  is  continually  charged 
more  or  less  freely  with  the  vapor  of  water.  In  the 
aggregate  the  amount  of  moisture  contained  is  immense. 
Under  ordinary  circumstances  it  is  so  expanded  by  heat 
of  the  sun's  rays  that  it  is  invisible,  but  when  the  two 
conditions  of  a  moisture-charged  atmosphere  and  a  re- 
duced temperature  come  together  this  invisible  vapor  is 
condensed  and  becomes  visible.  As  the  earth  is  com- 
monly cooler  at  nights,  mist  or  fogs  are  more  likely  to 
prevail  during  that  season,  or  in  the  early  morning  when 
the  earth  is  most  chilled  by  radiation.  Since  the  air 
which   rests  immediately  over  beds  of  water,  running 

*  Guyot — "  Earth  and  Man,"  page  152. 

(27) 


28  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

streams,  and  moist  bits  of  eartli  is  apt  to  be  most  freely 
charged  with  vapor,  we  see  mist  or  fog. more  commonly 
in  such  situations. 

The  great  source  of  the  aqueous  atmosphere  is  the 
torrid  zone,  where  the  heat  of  the  sun  converts  water 
into  vapor  in  large  quantities,  and  sets  in  play  the  cur- 
rents by  which  humid  air  is  distributed  throughout  the 
earth.  The  general  aqueous  or  vapor  circulation  has 
well  been  compared  to  a  great  steam-heating  apparatus 
with  its  boilers  in  the  tropics  and  the  condensers  all  over 
the  globe.  Any  large  building  heated  by  steam  will 
therefore  afford  an  object  lesson  by  which  this  phenome- 
non may  be  explained.  The  heat  of  furnaces  converts 
the  water  within  the  boilers  into  steam.  Water,  when 
changed  into  vapor,  absorbs  more  heat  probably  than  any- 
other  liquid.  The  steam-pipes  charged  with  this  heated 
steam  are  coiled  within  chambers,  or  distributed  in  series 
of  variously  folded  and  interfolded  loops  throughout  the 
building.  These  iron  pipes  or  condensers  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  cold  air,  w  hereupon  the  steam  is  c«  toled,  and 
in  the  process  of  condensation  yields  up  its  latent  heat. 
In  some  buildings,  as  in  this  church,  cold,  pure  air  from 
the  outside  is  blown  through  the  condensing  chamber 
across  iron  pipes,  and  after- being  thus  heated,  is  forced 
still  further  through  long  ducts  which  empty  their  heated 
contents  through  the  registers  into  the  audience  room. 

Now,  the  cold  earth,  or  a  colder  stratum  of  atmos- 
phere, form  conductors  which  come  in  contact  with  the 
vapor-charged  atmosphere  and  cause  it  to  give  up  its 
heat.  Thus  the  invisible  vapor  being  cooled  is  con- 
densed and  is  yielded,  as  has  already  been  stated,  in  the 
form  of  rain,  snow,  dvw,  and  mist  or  fog.  Mist  is  sim- 
ply a  coarser  form  of  invisible  vapor  or  a  finer  form  of 
dew.  It  is  caused  by  a  degree  of  cold  which  is  just 
enough  to  condense  the  vapor,  but  not  enough  to  I 
up  its  vaporous  form  and  cause  precipitation  in  dew. 

Another, and  perhaps  even  more  familiar  ami  simpler, 

illustration    of   this    atmospheric    phenomenon    may  be 

given.      Have   you   noticed   your  bed-room   windows, 


*  Cooke — "Religion  and  Chemistry," 


MIST,    OR   I 'A FOR  OF  WATER. 


29 


when  the  weather  is  cold,  covered  with  a  fine  mist 
upon  which  you  may  write  your  name  with  your  fin- 
ger, or  which  you  may  wipe  off  with  your  handker- 
chief, leaving  the  latter  moist  ?  It  is  the  aqueous  vapor 
from  your  own  lungs  which  has  been  condensed  into 
mist  by  contact  with  the  cold  window-glass.  Go  out 
into  the  air  on  a  frosty  morning,  and  as  you  breathe 
you  observe  a  little  mist-cloud  issuing  from  your  mouth, 
which  is  the  result  of  the  same  process.  If  the  doors 
or  windows  be  suddenly  opened  upon  a  heated  and 
crowded  room,  the  atmosphere  within  the  place  will  at 
once  become  dim,  a  fact  which  is  produced  by  the  aque- 
ous vapor  from  the  multitude  of  lungs,  previously  invis- 
ible on  account  of  its  greatly-rarefied  condition,  being 
suddenly  precipitated  in  the  form  of  mist.  If  the  weather 
be  intensely  cold  the  entrance  of  fresh  air  may  even  cause 
snow  to  fall.  This  has  been  observed  in  Russian  ball- 
rooms, and  also  in  the  subterranean  stables  at  Erzeroom 
when  the  doors  are  opened  and  the  cold  morning  air  is 
permitted  to  enter.*  Having  thus  explained  the  origin 
and  character  of  the  natural  phenomenon  of  mist  or  fog 
or  aqueous  vapor,  let  us  turn  to  the  lessons  which  the 
inspired  writers  have  associated' therewith. 

I.  Our  first  lesson  is  drawn  from  the  ephemeral  nature 
of  vapor.     "What  is   your  life?     It  is  a  vapor,  that  ap- 
peareth   for  a  little  while    and  then    vanisheth  away." 
How  apt  a  description  is  this  of  even  the  longest  life! 
"Like  mist  on  the  mountain,  like  waves  of  the  sea, 
So  quickly  the  years  of  our  pilgrimage  flee." 

The  time  allotted  to  us  here  is  none  too  long  to  fulfill 
the  duties  assigned  us  and  make  preparation  for  the  life 
which  lies  beyond.  It  is  strange,  indeed,  that  men  should 
be  so  careless  of  the  fact,  even  while  they  are  profoundly 
convinced  that  there  is  a  future  for  the  soul,  and  that  be- 
yond the  mists  of  this  life  there  shall  open  an  eternal  day. 

I  once  stood  upon  the  highest  peak  of  the  Allegheny 
hills  in  the  vicinity  of  Pittsburgh  and  looked  eastward 
upon  a    beautiful    landscape.     Before  me  were    rolling 


*Tyndall — "  Forms  of  Water,"  page  5. 


30  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

hills  dotted  with  farm-house,  cottage,  and  wood  ;  beyond 
was  the  valley  of  the  Monongahela,  and  beyond  that 
still  the  landscape  stretched  in  more  impressive  beauty 

until  it  grew  dim  in  the  distant  horizon.  An  hour  there- 
after I  looked  again.  A  dense  mist  had  risen  from  the 
river,  and  the  lovely  scene  on  which  I  had  gazed  with 
such  delight  was  hidden.  Only  hidden  !  for  I  knew 
that  the  landscape  still  remained,  and  that  the  morrow's 
sun  would  chase  away  the  fog  and  reveal  once  more  the 
woods,  cottages,  farm-houses,  and  rolling  hills. 

It  is  not  strange  that  those  who  are  overwhelmed 
with  the  cares  and  pressing  engagements  and  hard  con- 
flicts of  this  life,  should  at  times  permit  these  things  to 
dim  their  views  of  God,  of  coming  judgment,  and  the 
Heaven  of  the  redeemed.  But  certain  it  is  that  the  fact 
of  these  obscuring  earth-born  mists  does  not  blot  out 
the  more  substantial  facts  of  God  and  eternity.  Behind 
them  all,  beyond  them  all,. above  them  all,  is  that  life 
which  shall  be,  and  which  shall  open  upon  our  vision 
and  enjoyment  when  the  mists  of  death  have  fallen  from 
our  mortal  eyes  forever,  and  our  spirits  have  passed  into 
the  sunlight  of  immortality.  This  life  hides  heaven,  but 
it  comes  out  again  with  the  vanishing  mists.  Knowing 
that  this  is  so,  is  it  not  -becoming  that  our  energies 
•should  be  addressed  to  prepare  for  the  certainties  that 
await  us  after  death  ?  The  vapor  vanishes,  but  the  day 
remains.  Let  us  so  live  that  we  shall  remain  within  the 
precincts  of  the  eternal  day. 

It  is  the  duty  of  man  to  think  of  his  life  in  this  its 
larger  outlook.  Even  here,  if  he  will,  he  may  have 
visions  of  himself,  of  his  larger  self  as  projected  through 
the  lens  of  faith  upon  the  years  of  futurity.  The  high- 
est summit  of  the  Hart/,  mountains  of  Saxony  is  the 
Blocksberg  or  Brocken.  It  is  frequently  veiled  in  mist 
and  cloud  strata,  and  is  celebrated  for  the  phenomenon 
known  as    tin-    Spectre  of  the    Brocken  ("Brockenge- 

I  "),  which  is  nothing  more  than  the  shadow  of  men, 
houses,  or  other  objects  thrown  upon  the  misty  eastern 
horizon  by  the  light  of  sunset* 


•  Chambers'  Ency<  lopaedia,  art.  /.'.• 


MIST,  OR  VAPOR  OF  WATER.  3  I 

A  scientific  man  thus  describes  his  experience  of  his 
first  sight  of  this  spectre.  In  descending  from  one  of 
the  summits  he  came  into  a  region  of  mist,  when  sud- 
denly turning  a  corner  he  saw  standing  before  him  two 
immense  human  forms.  For  a  moment  he  was  startled. 
A  strange  feeling  as  of  superstition  crept  through  his 
frame.  He  stopped,  and  the  figures  stopped.  He  made 
a  motion,  and  the  figures  met  it  with  a  corresponding 
movement.  He  lifted  both  hands,  and  the  figures  lifted 
their  two  pairs  of  hands.  He  knew  now  that  what  he 
saw  was  only  himself  projected  against  the  mist  and 
greatly  magnified  by  the  light.  It  was  the  spectre  of  the 
Brocken ! 

"  Sometimes,  "  says  an  eloquent  preacher,  "  I  think 
God  permits  us  to  see  ourselves  magnified  upon  the  very 
cloud  of  vision.  We  have  for  a  moment  a  glimpse  of 
our  coming  estate  and  the  magnitude  of  our  lives,  but 
only  for  a  moment.  The  mist  rolls  away,  the  light 
changes  its  angle  and  bearing  and  the  vision  is  gone. 
We  come  down  from  the  mount  and  tell  what  we  have  seen 
as  a  matter  of  curiosity.  Rather  let  us  take  hold  of 
such  glimpses,  that  we  may  go  back  to  the  strifes  of  this 
world  with  a  stronger  and  more  abiding  faith  in  the 
future."* 

Yes,  our  life  is  a  vapor,  but  there  are  possibilities  with- 
in it  of  which  we  never  yet  have  dreamed.  Browning 
has  truly  sung, 

"  Man  is  not  man  as  yet." 

A  glimpse  of  his  fuller  stature,  indeed,  comes  to  him 
through  the  mists  of  these  swiftly-passing  years.  Only 
a  glimpse — and  that  enlarged  vision  of  what  he  may  be 
falls  far  below  the  stature  of  his  perfect  life.  Yet  surely 
there  is  enough  of  it  to  stimulate  him  into  earnest- 
ness, into  eagerness  of  preparation  for  the  destiny  which 
may  await  him.  Yes,  our  life  is  a  vapor!  It  vanishes 
swiftly  away,  but  there  is  enough  time  in  which  to  pre- 
pare for  the  inevitable  meeting  with  God,  and  for  the  life 
of  immortality.     There  is  time  enough,  but  there  is  not 

*  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 


32  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NATURE. 

a  moment  too  much !  Hasten  therefore  to  be  wise,  and, 
before  this  vapor  life  has  vanished,  turn  in  living  faith 
and  obedience  to  Him  who  waits  to  save  you. 

II.  In  the  second  place,  the  mist  teaches  us  that  our 
brief  life  should  be  a  life  of  blessing. 

In  the  opening  pages  of  the  book  of  Genesis  (Genesis 
ii.  5-6)  we  have  a  glimpse  of  the  ancient  Paradisej  the 
Eden  home  of  man  :  "For  the  Lord  God  had  not  caused 
it  to  rain  upon  the  earth,  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  till 
the  ground,  but  there  went  up  a  mist  from  the  earth  and 
watered  the  whole  face  of  the  ground."  In  that  era, 
therefore,  as  this  passage  reads,  the  mist  was  the  great 
nutritive  force  of  nature.  It  may  be  still  said  of  mist 
that  it  serves  the  purpose  of  watering  the  face  of  the 
earth,  for  as  you  have  already  seen,  if  rain  or  dew  be 
traced  back  to  their  origin  in  the  atmosphere,  they  will 
be  found  in  the  form  of  vapor.  Thus  the  fertilizing 
showers,  without  which  earth  would  grow  hard  and 
chapped,  and  the  fruits  of  the  forest  and  field  would  be 
withered,  may  be  said  to  be  due  to  the  same  natural  ele- 
ment that  of  old  made  Paradise  for  man. 

What  is  your  life?  It  is  a  vapor.  Stop!  is  it  indeed 
a  vapor  in  this  benevolent  phase  of  the  figure  of  our 
text?  It  appeareth  for  a  little  while,  but  does  it  leave 
behind  it  a  blessing?  Life  is  brief,  but  it  may  be  a 
benediction.  The  one  fact  cannot  be  hindered;  the 
other  is  possible  to  every  living  soul.  What  is  thechief 
end  of  man  ?  Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God.  Rut 
how  shall  one  glorify  God  in  this  life?  I  know  no  other 
way  than  by  purifying  the  fountains  of  one's  life  into 
holy  living,  and  causing  the  issuing  streams  to  go  forth 
to  gladden  the  children  of  men. 

To  my  thinking,  God  is  best  glorified  by  an  honest 
Ivor  on  the  part  of  every  man  to  bring  and  keep  a 
blessing  within  the  world.  If  indeed  it  be  impossible 
thus  to  restore  our  world  to  the  state  of  the  primitive 
Eden.it  is  not  impossible  so  to  water  the  face  of  the 
earth  by  gracious  living,  by  kind  and  noble  deeds,  by 
true  and  lofty  aims,  that  this  earthly  home  of  man  shall 
be  brought  as  near  to  Paradise  as  may  be  in  this  mortal 


MIST,  OR  I' A  FOR  OF  WATER. 


33 


estate,  and  shall  be  made  the  high  vantage  ground  from 
which  man  himself  shall  step  at  last  into  the  Paradise  of 
God.  This  is  the  purpose  that  ennobles,  enriches,  and 
glorifies  a  human  life  :  to  water  the  face  of  earth  with  the 
graces  and  gifts  of  true  Christian  living.  Shall  we  not 
join  together  this  hour  in  high  consecration  of  the  future 
of  our  lives,  whether  they  be  long  or  short,  to  such  a  worthy 
end?  Live  for  God.  Live  for  the  human  race.  Live 
for  that  loftier  selfhood  which  is  within  the  grasp  of  all. 
Thus  shall  earth  be  better,  and  heaven  be  made  sure. 

Alas!  how  sadly  in  contrast  with  such  a  purpose  are 
many  of  the  lives  that  are  everywhere  lived  around  us ! 
There  is  a  stream  in  Yosemite  valley  that  plunges  from 
the  high  upland  over  the  brink  of  the  precipice,  dashes 
downward  beyond  the  front  of  the  rocky  wall,  keeping 
for  a  space  the  form  of  water,  but  broken  more  and  more 
as  it  falls,  until  at  last  through  velocity  and  friction  of 
the  atmosphere,  the  whole  descending  volume  of  the 
stream  is  dispersed  into  mist  that  hangs  for  a  little  space 
around  the  ragged  terminus  of  the  cascade,  and  then 
slowly  ascends  towards  the  sky  until  it  disappears  within 
the  air  as  invisible  vapor.  That  waterfall  is  called  "The 
Bridal  Veil."  It  seems  to  me  an  emblem  of  too  many 
lives  that  start  upon  the  ventures  of  young  manhood 
and  young  womanhood  with  high  purposes  and  noble 
resolve,  with  all  the  force  of  youth's  rush  and  vigor 
urging  them  forward,  but  after  a  brief  career  are  dispersed 
into  the  mists  of  aimless  living,  and  fade  away  into  the 
life-ways  surrounding  them,  purposeless  and  useless. 

Is  your  life  in  this  sense  but  a  vapor  ?  Is  it  to  end  in 
empty  mist  ?  Shall  its  effects  be  invisible  to  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  those  who  surround  you  ?  This  great  world  is 
as  a  valley  of  Yosemite.  Your  young  life  rushes  towards 
it.  May  God  grant  that  instead  of  being  frittered  away 
and  lost  in  aimlessness  of  living,  you  may  find  your  place 
somewhere  in  the  garden  to  water  it,  brighten  it,  and  fruc- 
tify it  for  those  who  live  with  you  and  come  after  you! 

Let  us  change  our  figure  once  more.  Mists  when 
they  gather  above  the  seas  are  known  as  fogs.  Produced 
as  I  have  already  explained,  they  hang  above  the  surface 
of  the  water  when    the   winds   are   calm,  a  perpetual 


34  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

clement  of  danger  to  vessels  passing  up  and  down  the 
highways  of  commerce.  How  often  have  you  heard  of 
collisions  in  the  fog  ?  I  low  man}-  a  brave  ship  has  gone 
clown  underneath  the  stroke  of  some  sharp  hull  that  was 
being  pushed  by  careless  hand  or  mercenary  and  cruel 
heart  through  the  heavy  mists  !  How  many  a  little  craft 
has  been  ruthlessly  brushed  from  the  surface  of  the 
waves  to  sink,  unknown  and  uncared-for,  with  its  humble 
crew  to  the  depths  of  the  great  sea,  because  of  criminal 
thoughtlessness  for  human  life! 

Fi  iends,  are  there  any  amongst  us  who  are  thus  daily 
running  against  the  human  lives  that  they  meet,  crushing 
their  temporal  interests,  blighting  their  worldly  hopes, 
ruining  forever  their  immortal  prospects?  What  mists 
are  these  that  thus  can  make  a  might}-  spirit  a  very 
pirate  upon  the  high  seas  of  life  ?  Greed  for  gold,  lust 
after  power,  the  pride  of  wealth  and  station.  I  need  not 
name  more.  These  are  the  sins  that  befog  many  of  the 
noblest  minds,  and  send  them  forth  among  their  fellows 
with  all  their  vigor  and  possessions  desecrated  to  the  sad 
work  of  wreckage  and  destruction.  Oh  for  a  breath  of 
God  to  blow  these  mists  away  from  us  and  all  ours!  Oh 
for  the  clearer  light  that  comes  from  the  throne  of  the 
merciful  Saviour,  to  break  through  these  fogs  of  sinful 
selfishness  and  teach  men  that  power  is  not  meant  to 
break,  and  burden,  and  curse,  and  destroy,  and  shatter 
the  weak  vessels  of  humanity,  but  to  save  and  bless  and 
fill  with  hope  and  happiness  even  the  frailest  and  feeblest 
of  our  kind.  Remember  the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ:  "Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these  my 
brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me."  And 
again,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one  of  these 
least,  ye  did  it  not  unto  m 

III.  Our  third  lesson  comes  to  us  from  (he  obedience 
of  the  mist  to  the  will  and  law  of  the  Creator. 

This  fact  evidently  deeply  impressed  the  minds  of  the 
ancient  prophets,  who  were  close  observers  of  atmos- 
pheric phenomena,  and  drew  many  lessons  therefrom. 

*Mutt.  xxv.  40-45,  K.  V. 


MIST,   OR   VAPOR  OF  WATER.  35 

Thus  the  Psalmist  writes  :  "  Praise  the  Lord  from  the 
earth,  ye  dragons  and  all  deeps,  fire  and  hail,  snow  and 
vapor,  stormy  wind  fulfilling  his  word."*  Again  :  "  He 
causeth  the  vapors  to  ascend  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth. "f  The  book  of  Job,  the  most  ancient  of  the 
books  of  Scripture,  contains  the  same  allusion  :  "  For  he 
maketh  small  the  drops  of  water;  they  pour  down  rain 
according  to  the  vapor  thereof"!  This  last  is  a  repe- 
tition of  our  thought,  with  a  fine  evidence  that  the  rela- 
tion between  rain  and  vapor  was  not  unknown  in  that 
distant  day.  I  will  not  dwell  upon  this  point,  to  which 
I  alluded  in  the  sermon  of  last  Sabbath  upon  "  God  as 
Force,"  but  it  is  well  to  follow  the  spirit  and  letter  of 
the  ancient  prophets,  and  hold  up  the  obedience  of  the 
material  world  to  the  imitation  of  man.  If  there  is  no 
other  way  by  which  you  may  be  persuaded,  oh,  reason- 
crowned  men, be  s/iamcd  into  your  duty  by  the  obedience 
to  divine  law  which  is  enstamped  everywhere  upon  the 
creatures  of  inanimate  nature.  From  the  sun  we  expect 
sunshine,  because  the  purpose  of  its  being  is  to  shine. 
From  cloud,  rain,  and  dew,  from  vapor  of  water,  from 
mist  we  expect,  always  expect,  expect  without  deviation, 
qualification,  or  delay,  most  implicit  discharge  of  the 
functions  which  the  Almighty  Creator  has  imposed  upon 
them.  They  never  fail  the  hand  that  made  them.  They 
never  go  counter  to  the  will  whose  force  set  them  origi- 
nally in  play.  They  go  forth  upon  their  mission,  in  the 
impressive  imagery  of  the  Psalmist,  fulfilling  the  word  of 
God.  That  obedience  is  necessary.  I  can  scarcely  call  it 
noble,  for  "  noble  "  is  a  term  that  belongs  to  a  creature  of 
reason,  of  thought,  of  voluntary  action  ;  it  belongs  to  man, 
and  obedience  in  man  is  noble.     There  is  no  nobler  trait. 

"  Great  may  he  be  who  can  command 
And  rule  with  just  and  tender  sway  ; 
Yet  is  diviner  wisdom  taught 
Better  by  him  who  can  obey."  \ 

IV.  Our  last  lesson  comes  from  the  use  of  mist  as  a 
symbol  of  judgment  upon  the  wicked. 

*  Psalms  cxlviii.  7,  S.     f  Psalms  cxxxv.  7.     %  Job  xxxvi.   27,  28. 
\  Poems  of  Adelaide  Proctor,  "Maximus." 


36  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Elymas,  the  sorcerer  at  Paphos  in  Cyprus,  withstood 
the  apostles,  and  sought  to  turn  away  the  distinguished 
inquirer  Sergius   Paulus  from  the  faith.     The   aj 

Paul,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  invoked  divine  judg- 
ment upon  that  enemy  of"  righteousness  because  he  per- 
verted the  rightways  of  the  Lord,"  And  immediately,"  we 

read,  "there  fell  on  him  a  mist  and  a  darkness,  and  he 
went  about  seeking  some  to  lead  him  by  the  hand." 
The  wicked  men  whose  sinful  courses  are  set  in  array 
by  St.  Peter  in  his  second  epistle  are  described  as 
"clouds  that  are  carried  with  a  tempest,  to  whom  the 
mist  of  darkness  is  reserved  forever." f 

In  the  one  case  the  judgment  appears  to  have  been 
a  physical,  in  the  other  a  spiritual  one.  I  do  not  know 
what  may  have  been  involved  in  the  latter.  Who  can 
say?  Who  would  presume  or  wish  to  say?  For  on 
a  subject  such  as  this,  one  must  feel  that  it  is  b 
always  that  the  Almighty  Judge  should  speak  for  Him- 
self. This  much  at  least  we  may  discern,  that  the 
figurative  expression  "mist"  is  an  apt  symbol  of  that 
soul  out  of  whose  horizon  the  virion  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  with  healing  in  his  wings  has  been  per- 
mitted to  drop  away.  If  it  be  but  a  momentary  mist — "  a 
vapor  that  appeareth  for  a  little  while" — even  thus  it  is 
sail  enough  ;  for  a  life  without  the  presence  of  Christ  to 
brighten  and  bless  it  must  be  a  hopeless  one. 

Too  many  men  of  high  intellectual  endowments,  upon 
whom  the  world  has  laid  honors,  have  U'und  it  in  their 
hearts  to  raise  before  the  eyes  of  their  fellows,  and 
becloud  their  spiritual  future  with,  the  mists  of  un- 
belief. In  the  name  of  science  the>-  have  obscured  the 
throne  on  which  that  Sovereign  sits  whose  power  up- 
holds the  order  and  laws  to  uncover  which  is  the 
function  of  science.  They  have  shut  from  view  the 
ocean  of  eternity  by  the  mists  of  doubt  which  they  have 
d  before  it.  Such  men  sail  n<>  longer  upon  life's 
voyage, and  outward  into  the  illimitable  future  under  the 
full  sunlight  of  hope  and  joyous  confidence  of  a  h 
immortality,  but  wander  hopeless  over  uncertain  path-, 

♦Acts  xiii.  ii.    t  II-  Peterii.  17. 


MIST,  OR  VAPOR  OF  WATER.  37 

surrounded  by  fogs  which  make  all  chart  and  compass 
useless  for  the  unhappy  voyager.  Who  can  take  his 
latitude  on  this  wide  sea  of  life  when  for  him  there  is  no 
longer  glimpse  of  sun  or  star  of  night  ? 

In  a  recent  magazine  article  the  distinguished  Ameri- 
can poet,  James  Russel  Lowell,  has  written  a  poem  with 
such  a  thought  as  this  in  view.  He  thus  represents  the 
condition  of  one  groping  in  the  mists : — 

"Men  feel  old  systems  cracking  under  'em  ; 
Life  saddens  to  a  mere  conundrum 
Which  once  religion  solved,  but  she 
Has  lost — has  science  found  ? — the  key." 

Of  those  who  use  their  scientific  discoveries  to  pro- 
mote guesses  and  hypotheses  destructive  of  Christian 
faith,  he  thus  writes  : — 

"They  make  things  admirably  plain, 
But  one  hard  question  will  remain  : 
If  one  hypothesis  you  lose, 
Another  in  its  place  you  choose  ; 
But  your  faith  gone,  O  man  and  brother, 
Whose  shop  will  furnish  you  another — 
One  that  will  wash,  I  mean,  and  wear, 
And  wrap  us  warmly  from  despair?  " 

In  view  of  the  whole  field,  which  he  is  as  well  able  to 
cover  with  his  thought  as  any  living  man,  he  brushes 
away  with  his  master  pen  those  mists  that  have  darkened 
and  depressed  the  faith  of  so  many,  and  pointing  forward 
along  the  path  into  which  the  full  sunlight  of  God  pours 
joyfully,  he  thus  signifies,  as  he  sings,  his  purpose  to 
hold  fast  to  the  old  dear  faith  of  childhood  : — 

"  I  might  as  well 
Obey  the  meeting-house's  bell, 
And  listen  while  Old  Hundred  pours 
Forth  through  the  summer-opened  doors, 
From  old  and  young.     I  hear  it  yet, 
Swelled  by  bass-viol  and  clarinet, 
While  the  gray  minister,  with  face 
Radiant,  let  loose  his  noble  bass. 
If  heaven  it  reached  not,  yet  its  roll 
Waked  all  the  echoes  of  the  soul, 
And  on  it  many  a  life  found  wings, 
To  soar  away  from  sordid  things."* 

*James    Russel     Lowell — "  Credidimus    Jovem     Regnare," 
Atlantic  Monthly,  February,  1SS7. 


38  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

This,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  a  wise  decision.  The  rejec- 
tion of  Christ,  the  doubt  of  unbelief,  is  amist  of  darkness 
which  can  only  deepen  the  misery  of  man's  estate.  It 
brings  to  him  in  this  life  restlessness,  hopelessness,  and 
despair. 

Let  us  devoutly  hope  that  upon  none  of  us  shall  this 
mist  of  darkness  settle  in  the  coming  eternity.  Is  there 
one  spirit  here  obscured  by  such  a  mist  ?  Ah!  brother 
and  friend,  let  me  invoke  for  you  to-day  the  spirit  of  the 
living  God.  Let  me  beseech  you  to  raise  for  yourself 
the  prayer,  Come,  oh  north  wind,  blow,  oh  south  wind  ; 
dispel  this  mist  of  worldliness  and  unbelief,  and  show  to 
me  the  blue  heavens  with  a  God  of  love  and  redemption 
regnant  upon  and  beyond  it,  mighty  and  willing  to 
save. 

We  often  hear,  perhaps  too  often,  of  men  of  science 
who  have  lost  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  forget  the  great 
number  of  rank  and  file  who  keep  the  faith  and  possess 
their  souls  in  quietness  and  peace.  Ten  thousand  ships 
sail  the  great  seas  safely  and  come  and  go  unnoticed  on 
their  useful  ways.  But  one  goes  down  in  the  tempest  or 
comes  into  port  storm-bruised  and  broken  by  the  waves, 
sails  shivered,  masts  shattered,  yards  and  cordage 
snapped,  helm  disabled  and  binnacle  swept  away,  and 
lo,  the  whole  world  knows  her  name  and  her  disaster! 
You  read  of  one  naturalist  making  shipwreck'  of  the 
faith  ;  do  not  conclude  that  all  men  of  science. have  met 
a  like  misfortune.  I  doubt  whether  in  proportion  to 
their  number  such  gentlemen  are  more  liable  to  such 
disaster  than  those  of  other  professions  and  vocations. 
However  that  may  be,  let  me  speak  of  one  who  a  (cw 
years  ago  passed  from  among  men — Prof.  James  Clerk 
Maxwell.  Me  was  one  of  the  most  astute  minds  of 
Great  Britain.  1  lis  massive  intellect  and  great  attain- 
ments in  physical  science  and  mathematics  were  ac- 
knowledged by  the  entire  world  of  science.  He  was  a 
firm  and  devoted  follower  of  Jesus.  Of  him  his  biogra- 
pher wr<  tte  : — 

"  I  lis  faith  in  the  grand  cardinal  verities  was  firm, 
simple,  and  lull  ;  and  he  avowed  it  humbly  but  unhesi- 
tatingly, with  the  deepest  gratitude  for  the  revelation  of 


MIST,  OR  VAPOR  OF  WATER.  39 

the  truth  in  Jesus.     I  do  not  think  he  had  any  doubts  or 
difficulties  to  cloud  his  mind  or  shake  his  peace."* 

Let  such  a  light  shine  this  day  as  a  beacon,  a  light- 
house to  any  who  are  in  the  mists  of  unbelief. 

"  Heroic  saint  !  bright  sufferer  !  thou  dost  lend 
To  science  a  new  glory.     Midst  the  press 
Of  boasters,  all  thy  meek-eyed  fame  confess, 
And  worldlings  thine  unworldliness  commend. 

Shine  on,  pure  spirit !  though  we  see  thee  not, 
Even  in  thy  passage  thou  hast  purged  away 

The  fogs  of  earth-born  doubt  and  sense-bound  thought 
From  hearts  that  followed  thine  all-piercing  ray. 

And  while  thou  soarest  far  from  human  view, 

Even  thy  faint  image  shall  our  strength  renew."  f 

2.  It  is  sometimes  the  case  in  the  Christian's  ex- 
perience that  there  comes  a  glimpse  of  the  horror  of 
this  mist  of  darkness  in  the  form  of  spiritual  fears  and 
doubts.  These  do  not  cover  the  fundamental  points  of 
faith,  the  being  of  God,  the  fact  of  immortality,  the 
certainty  of  Christ's  life  and  redemption,  but  simply 
obscure  the  individual's  hope  as  to  his  own  interest  in 
these  great  facts.  Am  I  saved  ?  Do  I  truly  believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ? 

Have  you  ever  walked  in  the  early  morning  or  late 
at  night  over  some  familiar  path  covered  with  fogs  and 
wondered  how  strange  all  things  looked  ?  From  yon 
Delaware,  flowing  before  the  gates  of  our  great  city, 
I  have  often  seen  in  the  autumn  the  mist  rolling  out, 
hiding  for  a  time  the  lovely  landscapes  of  our  suburban 
regions.  When  venturing  sometimes  to  walk  abroad 
through  these  mists,  or  driving  from  my  summer  lodg- 
ing toward  my  city  home,  I  have  noted  how  hard  it  is 
to  tell  the  features  of  the  scenery.  They  are  distorted 
as  seen  through  the  mist.  They  are  obscured  by  the 
mist.  The  familiar  landmarks  are  blotted  out.  Even 
the  well-known  pathway  to  home,  where  dearest  friends 
await  with  welcome,  seems  strange  and  unknown  to  the 
eye,  or  is  wholly  hidden  from  sight.     Yet,  well  did  I 

*  Life  of  James  Clerk  Maxwell  :  McMillan  &  Co.,  London.  Page 
414.  f  From  the  sonnet  printed  on  a  fly-leaf  of  Prof.  Maxwell's 
Biography. 


40  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NA  Tl  rRE. 

know  that  friends  and  home,  and  blue  heaven,  and  the 
light  of  God  were  all  there  beyond  the  mists,  and  that 
by  and  by  it  would  thus  appear  to  me. 

Oh  doubting  Christian,  "  take  it  on  faith  a  little  while  ; 
soon  shall  you  read  his  promise  right  in  the  full  sun- 
light of  his  .smile."  Christ  remains  in  spite  of  your 
doubts.  Not  one  promise  of  his  has  been  blotted  out, 
although  you  may  not  be  able  to  read  it  while  that 
strange  mist  is  on  your  eyes.  Heaven  and  God  all 
remain,  always  remain,  and  they  all  are  yours. 

I  was  driving  once  with  a  company  of  college  friends 
along  the  valley  of  Chartiers  creek  in  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  was  a  foggy  morning.  We  moved  through 
the  valley,  for  the  road  threaded  the  course  of  the 
stream.  We  wrapped  our  coats  around  us  and  shivered 
in  the  morning  chills.  Soon  our  path  led  away  from 
the  valley  and  stream  up  a  sloping  hillside.  Higher 
still  we  mounted,  up, still  up,  until  suddenly  we  emerged 
from  the  mist  into  full  sunlight.  All  around  us  and 
above  us  lay  fields,  hillsides,  and  forests  beautiful  in  the 
rays  ofheavenls  luminary  that  poured  his  morning  glory 
on  the  scene.  Below  us,  covering  all  the  valley,  lay  the 
mist,  rising  here  and  sinking  there,  looking  like  a  toss- 
ipof  sea.  We  had  escaped  all  that.  We  were  out 
of  the  f'y^.     We  had  come  out,  simply  by  coming  up. 

Christian  doubter,  this  parable  is  for  you.  Mists  love 
the  lowlands.  Forsake  the  lowlands  of  that  life  of  un- 
belief in  which  you  are  living.  Go  higher!  still  higher! 
on  wings  of  faith  mount  nearer  to  the  throne,  nearer  to 
that  hill  whose  healing  cross  is  the  central  point  of  hu- 
man hopes.  As  you  draw  near  in  reverent  trust,  there 
shall  fall  for  you  the  light  that,  if  it  do  not  d: 
mists  in  this  weary  and  wicked  world  of  ours,  shall  at 
lift  your  spirit  out  of  them,  and  give  you  that  sun- 
shine which  God  appoints  for  his  own.  Go  upward! 
i  the    higher    life    of   holiness    and    faith!      N 

n — upon  heights  of  faith  men  shall  find   brightness 
and  joy  for  their  souls. 

"  Nearer,  my  <  »od,  t>>  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Th< 


LECTURE  III. 


The  Dew: 
God's  Silent  Blessings. 

"/  will  be  as  the  deiv  unto  Israel." — Kosea  xiv.  5. 


THE  DEW— GOD'S   SILENT  BLESSINGS. 


When  the  cover  is  lifted  from  a  vegetable  dish  on  the 
dinner  table  the  inside  is  often  found  covered  with  dew. 
Whence  has  it  come  ?  The  steam  or  vapor  of  water  arising 
from  the  contents  of  the  dish  comes  in  contact  with  the  cold 
cover,  is  condensed,  and  forms  upon  the  inside  as  minute 
beads  of  moisture.  An  ice  pitcher  on  a  summer's  day  is 
often  found  covered  with  particles  of  dew  which  extend 
usually  no  further  than  the  limits  of  the  water  inside. 
The  explanation  of  this  dew  upon  the  pitcher  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  dew  upon  the  inside  of  the  dish  cover,  and 
is  very  simple.  The  layer  of  air  in  contact  with  the  cold 
vessel  is  cooled  rapidly,  is  condensed  in  the  cooling,  and 
its  excess  of  moisture  being  thus  squeezed  out  or  pre- 
cipitated, settles  in  minute  drops  upon  the  surface  of  the 
pitcher. 

These  familiar  facts  afford  good  illustrations  of  the 
cause  of  dew.  It  is  simply  the  invisible  vapor  of  the  air 
condensed  by  contact  with  the  surface  of  the  earth,  which 
becomes  rapidly  cool  on  clear  and  calm  nights.  During 
night  in  summer  the  temperature  falls  continually  from 
the  effects  of  terrestrial  radiation,  till  the  earliest  dawn  ; 
when  the  daily  rise  in  temperature  sets  in,  owing  to  the 
heat  reflected  to  the  upper  strata  of  the  atmosphere 
which  have  begun  to  be  heated  and  lighted  up  by  the 
rays  of  the  morning  sun.  As  the  cooling  by  terrestrial 
radiation  continues,  the  temperature  of  objects  on  the 
surface  is  gradually  lowered  to  the  dew  point,  and  when 
this  point  is  reached  the  aqueous  vapor  begins  to  be  con- 
densed in  dew  upon  their  surfaces.  The  quantity  depos- 
ited is  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  cold  produced  and 
the  quantity  of  vapor  in  the  air.* 

*  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  16,  art.  Meteorology. 

(43) 


44  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

But,  it  will  be  asked,  what  cools  the  earth  so  suddenly 
after  the  setting  of  the  sun?  This  perhaps  is  not  so 
evident  as  the  cause  of  the  coldness  of  our  ice  pitcher. 
The  answer  to  this  question  requires  us  to  know  that  the 
earth  is  moving  with  immense  rapidity  through  a  space 
whose  temperature  has  been  estimated  at  least  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  (-70°  degrees)  below  zero  of  Fahren- 
heit's thermometer.  Thus,  like  a  heated  cannon-ball 
hung  in  the  middle  of  a  cold  room,  it  is  continually  giv- 
ing out  heat,  or  losing  it  by  radiation.  The  dense  at- 
mosphere with  which  the  earth  is  enveloped  acts  like  a 
blanket  to  protect  it  from  this  intense  cold  of  space  to  a 
certain  extent.  But  still  the  constant  loss  of  heat  by  ra- 
diation is  so  great  that  were  the  sun's  rays  withheld  for 
a  tew  days  the  temperature  of  the  surface  land,  even  in 
the  tropics,  would  fall  as  low  as  it  is  at  the  poles  during 
the  long  nights  of  Arctic  winter.*  When, therefore,  the 
sun  goes  down  radiation  tow  aids  the  cold  regions  of 
space  takes  place  not  only  from  the  surface  of  the  globe 
but  also  directly  from  the  molecules  of  air  and  its  aque- 
ous vapor.  But,  as  the  radiation  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth  is  more  rapid  and  greater  than  from  the  stratum  of 
atmosphere  immediately  surrounding  it,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  same  result  must  follow  which  occurs  when  the 
ice  pitcher  is  placed  in  the  open  room  ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  moisture  of  the  air  near  the  surface  is  condensed  and 
precipitated  in  the  form  of  dew. 

The  natural  phenomenon  of  dew  as  known  to  us  and 
as  above  described  w;is  not  unknown  to  the  people  of 
Pale-tine.  In  winter  during  fine  weather  dew  is  there 
'  1  as  in  other  countries  by  the  cooling  of  the 
surface  of  the  ground  on  cloudless  nights.  But  inasmuch 
as  winter  is  tin'  one  period  of  the  year  when  much  rain 
falls  in  tropical  torrents,  ordinary  dew,  which  chiefly 
forms  at  such  times,  is  comparatively  speaking valueles 
We  must  therefore  look-  for  some  other  cause  of  that 
peculiar  mm\  inestimable  blessin;  n  referred  to  by 

the  inspired  penman  under  the  figure  of  dew. 

*  Cooki    -"  Religion  and  Chemistry,"  ]  '  Rev.  Jambs 

Neil— "Palestine  Explored,"  ; 


THE  DE  W— COD'S  SILENT  BLESSINGS.  4 5 

The  nature  of  the  difference  between  the  dew  of  Holy 
Scripture  and  dew  as  known  to  us  will  be  considered  in 
the  next  discourse.  At  present  we  need  only  to  under- 
stand that  the  difference  is  not  such  as  to  destroy  the 
fitness  of  the  lessons  which  we  have  to  learn  therefrom ; 
for  after  all  there  is  no  better  English  word  than  "  dew" 
to  describe  the  corresponding  phenomenon  as  it  exists 
in  Holy  Land,  although  it  has  sometimes  been  called  the 
"  Night  Mist." 

This  phenomenon  was  a  matter  of  constant  observa- 
tion by  the  people  of  Bible  times  and  lands,  as  we  may 
readily  see  by  turning  to  those  texts  which  refer  to  the 
subject.  For  the  most  part  Scripture  writers  use  the  dew 
as  an  emblem  of  divine  blessing  both  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral. Isaac  in  bestowing  his  blessing  upon  Jacob  said, 
"  God  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven."*  Moses  when 
addressing  the  people  of  Israel  in  his  immortal  song 
invoked  their  attention  on  the  ground  that  his  "speech 
shall  distill  as  the  dew,  as  the  small  rain  upon  the  tender 
herb."f  Again,  in  the  blessing  which  he  bestowed  upon 
the  children  of  Israel  he  gave  to  the  tribe  of  Joseph 
this  benediction — "  Blessed  of  the  Lord  be  his  land  ; 
for  the  precious  things  of  heaven,  for  the  dew."J 

The  patriarch  Job,  among  other  figurative  descriptions 
of  his  great  blessedness  in  the  days  of  his  prosperity, 
introduces  this: 

My  root  is  spread  out  by  the  waters, 
And  the  dew  lies  all  night  on  my  branch.  2 

The  wise  proverbialist  uses  the  same  phenomenon  as 
a  figure  of  royal  favor: 

The  king's  wrath  is  as  the  roaring  of  a  lion  ; 
But  his  favor  is  as  dew  upon  the  grass.  j| 

In  David's  touching  lament  over  Saul  and  the  beloved 
Jonathan  he  utters  an  apostrophe  describing  the  great- 
ness of  his  grief  and  of  the  national  loss  by  the  fall  of 
two  such  leaders  under  the  striking  figure,  "  Ye  moun- 
tains of  Gilboa,  let  there  be  no  more  dew !  "\     In  all 

*  Genesis  xxviii.  2S.     f  Deut.  xxxii.  2.     %  Deut.  xxxiii.  13.     SJob 
xxix.  19.     ||  Prov.  xix.  12.     \  II.  Samuel  i.  21. 


46  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Ti  rRE. 

these  references  it  will  be  observed  that  dew  is  taken  as 
an  emblem  of  a  divine  blessing  either  in  temporal  or 
spiritual  things. 

1  dropping  now  the  general  symbol  and  entering  some- 
what into  particulars,  we  shall  see,  first,  that 

I.  The  dew  is  a  type  of  the  Silent  Blessings  of  God. 

"  I  will  be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel,"  says  Jehovah,  de- 
scending  with  spiritual  graces  not  only,  but  coming  silently 
even  as  the  dew  falls  upon  the  tender  grass.  It  is  not  an 
unfamiliar  thought  to  us  that  God  works  no  less  mightily 
because  he  w<  >rks  in  silence.  There  hangs  about  the  .Mo- 
saic narrative  of  creation  a  composure  almost  as  of  uncon- 
sciousness. The  story  of  how  the  heavens  and  earth 
were  created,  reduced  to  orderly  form  and  all  living 
things  brought  upon  the  globe,  is  told  in  few  words  as 
one  would  tell  a  nursery  tale,  or  recite  the  commonest 
incident  of  daily  life.  That  spirit  is  a  reflection  of  a 
large  part  of  Nature's  daily  mood.  How  silently  the 
forests  grow  !  How  silently  spring  up  grass,  herbage,  and 
grain!  We  may  walk  on  a  summer  day  in  the  green 
fields  and,  except  now  and  then  a  crackling  of  luxurious 
growing  corn-stalks,  we  shall  hear  no  sound  to  indicate 
that  Nature  is  producing  those  crops  which  shall  weight 
down  our  granaries,  tax  our  means  of  railroad  transpor- 
tation, fill  our  great  ships  with  their  products,  and  feed 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  Seed  for  the  sower  and  bread 
for  the  eater,  for  all  the  millions  of  the  hosts  of  men,  are 
wrought  out  in  the  laboratory  of  Nature  with  scarce  a 
sound  of  toil. 

Go  into  the  great  forests  of  the  Adirondacks  and  lie 
down  at  night  by  your  camp  fire.  A  silence  as  of  death 
overhangs  the  scene.  Now  and  then  one  may  hear  a 
dropping  of  broken  twig  or  leaf,  the  hum  of  an  insect, 
the  listless  movement  of  a  bird  upon  its  perch.  I  I 
sionally  the  forest  will  be  startled  by  the  sudden  sweep 
and  crash  of  some  gigantic  plant  monarch  as  it  falls 
seemingly  withoul  i  ind  awakes  thunderous  echoes 

on  the  silent  night.  The  rising  breeze,  as  it  soughs  and 
moans  through  limbs  ami  leaves,  will  often  break  the 
stillness.      But  beside  these  external  signs  of  life  there 


THE  DEW— GOD'S  SILENT  BLESSINGS.  47 

is  no  voice  to  speak  to  you  of  that  great  work  which 
Nature  there  is  doing.  And  what  is  Nature  doing? 
She  is  lifting  up  a  forest  of  unnumbered  trees  towards 
the  skies ;  she  is  forming  timber  that  shall  build  our 
houses,  span  our  rivers  and  streams  with  bridges,  and 
frame  the  great  ships  that  go  down  to  the  seas  with  our 
commence.  Forest  building  is  a  silent  work.  Thus  it 
is  through  all  the  realm  of  Creation. 

Nor  is  it  different  in  the  kingdom  of  God's  grace.  Our 
Master  compared  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  the  mus- 
tard seed  and  to  leaven  hid  in  a  measure  of  meal.*  The 
parable  holds  good  in  the  matter  of  the  silence  with 
which  the  germinating  seed  and  the  fermenting  germ 
accomplish  their  work.  "The  kingdom  of  God  cometh 
not  with  observation."  f 

This  lesson  was  never  more  impressively  taught  than 
to  the  prophet  Elijah  on  Mount  Horeb.  "  Go  forth  and 
stand  upon  the  mount  before  the  Lord  !  "  |  Thus  spoke 
the  divine  word.  Elijah  awaited  the  signal  of  God's  ap- 
pearance. His  prophetic  soul  knew  well  to  discern  the 
awful  presence.  He  will  not  go  forth  from  his  cave 
until  God  is  verily  there.  Hark!  There  is  a  sound  in 
the  mouth  of  the  cavern.  It  is .  the  wind  rising  upon 
the  mountain.  Higher,  fiercer,  until  it  roars  down  the 
deep  ravines  that  unite  in  front  of  Mount  Sinai  and  howls 
through  the  gorges,  and  whips  the  trees  into  those  wail- 
ing cries  so  familiar  to  mountaineers  and  foresters  in  the 
stormy  season.  The  trees  are  uprooted  and  hurled 
down  the  cliff,  dragging  with  them  great  quantities  of 
soil.  The  landslide  rushes  into  the  plain  with  a  crash 
like  thunder.  Thus  perhaps  it  is  that  we  are  to  under- 
stand the  passage,  "  The  wind  rent  the  mountain  and 
brake  in  pieces  the  rocks."  It  were  a  stout  heart,  in- 
deed, that  would  not  flinch  if  exposed  in  absolute  soli- 
tude to  the  fury  of  such  a  mountain  storm.  Yet  the 
only  picture  we  form  of  the  prophet  is  of  one  standing 
in  the  dim  light  of  his  cave  gazing  outward,  straining 
every  faculty  to  catch  amidst  the  clamor  of  the  tempest 
an    indication   of   the    revealing    presence    of  his   God. 

*  Luke  xiii.  19,  21.     f  Luke  xvii.  20.     %  I.  Kings  xix.  11. 


48  77//;  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

There  came  none  to  him.  "  The  Lord  was  not  in  the 
wind  ;  and  after  the  wind  an  earthquake  ;"  or,  to  take  up 
the  peculiar  but  most  expressive  rendering  of  the  Chal- 
daic  version,  "  After  the  host  of  the  angels  of  the  wind 
there  was  a  host  of  the  angels  of  commotion,  but  the 
majesty  of  the  Lord  was  not  in  the  host  of  the  angels  of 
commotion;  and  after  the  host  of  the  angels  of  commo- 
tion, a  fire,  but  the  majesty  of  the  Lord  was  not  in  the 
host  of  the  angels  of  fire;   and  after  the  )  ngels  of 

fire  a  voice  singing  in  silence,"  that  is, a  voice  with  which 
no  other  voice  was  mingled.  It  tilled  the  air  and  filled 
Elijah's  soul  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else.  The  tempest 
had  rolled  away  over  the  mountain.  The  rocking  cliffs 
were  soothed  into  their  usual  stability.  A  calm  as  of 
death  had  settled  upon  Iloreb,  and  through  that  calm 
more  .awful  even  than  the  crash  of  the  troubled  elements 
stole  that  "still  small  voice,"  " a  sound  of  gentle  still- 
ness," *  "  the  whisper  of  a  voice  as  of  a  gentle  breath."  t 
The  prophetic  spirit  discerned  at  once  the  presence  of 
his  God.  "And  it  was  so  when  Elijah  heard  it  that  he 
wrapped  his  face  in  his  mantle  and  went  out  and  st< 
in  the  entering  in  of  the  cave."  There  with  his  h 
reverently  bowed  within  the  folds  of  his  rough  sheepskin 
cloak  he  awaited  the  revelation.  "Ami  behold  there 
came  a  voice  unto  him." 

What  is  the  significance  of  this  "  voice  singing  in  si- 
lence?"— this"  whisper  of  avoice  as  of  a  gentle  breath," — 
this  still  small  voice  in  which  Jehovah  chose  to  c  im- 
mune with  his  prophet?  It  is  not  hard  to  find  the  an- 
swer. We  have  here  uncovered  the  whole  spirit  of  that 
new  dispensation  which  Elijah  was  to  do  SO  much 
prepare.  The  tire  of  Carmel,  the  storm  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  earthquake  revolution  by  which  the  pri< 
of  Baal  and  the  groves  were  slaughtered  at  a  blow — all 
that  had  not  succeeded.  Now  was  to  begin  the  silent 
rk  of  prayer  and  preaching.  Conviction  was  to  do 
its  noiseless  office.  The  seven  thousand  who  had  not 
bowed  the  knee  to  Baal  were  to  be  as  a  leaven  silently 
working  among  the  nation.     Elijah  was  to  go  thence  to 


;  tuagint  version. 


THE  DEW— COD'S  SILENT  BLESSINGS.  49 

anoint  the  mild,  persuasive  Elisha  as  prophet  in  his  own 
room,  and  then  the  work  was  to  go  on  quietly,  steadily, 
and  hopefully  as  before.  The  still  small  voice  should 
prevail.  The  prophet  was  to  "learn  to  labor  and  to 
wait;"  to  be  patient,  and  trust  to  the  silent,  steady  influ- 
ence of  honest  duty  and  slow  growing  conviction  to  do 
the  work  of  God  in  men's  hearts. 

The  truth  should  prevail  over  all.  More  triumphant 
and  effective  than  the  maledictions  of  Elijah,  the  sword 
of.  Hazael  and  the  sword  of  Jehu,  would  be  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit,  the  Word  of  God.  To  quote  the  noble  language 
of  Dean  Stanley,  "  Not  in  the  strong  east  wind  that  parted 
the  Red  Sea,  or  the  fire  that  swept  the  top  of  Sinai,  or 
the  earthquake  that  shook  down  the  walls  of  Jericho, 
would  God  be  brought  so  near  to  man,  as  in  the  still 
small  voice  of  the  child  at  Bethlehem,  as  in  the  minis- 
trations of  him  whose  cry  was  not  heard  in  the  streets, 
in  the  awful  stillness  of  the  cross,  in  the  never-failing 
order  of  Providence,  in  the  silent,  insensible  influence  of 
good  deeds  and  good  words,  of  God  and  of  man."  * 

This  mode  of  divine  working  is  profoundly  effective. 
There  is  something  strangely  impressive  in  perfect  si- 
lence. The  silence  of  night  overhanging  the  business 
portions  of  a  great  city ;  the  silence  of  Nature  in  her  deep 
solitudes;  the  silence  that  sits  upon  ocean  and  earth  in 
the  moments  just  before  a  storm ;  the  hush  of  men  when 
their  souls  are  filled  with  great  passions,  and  pause  on 
the  eve  of  some  momentous  event ;  the  hush  which  marks 
the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  a  revival  of  religion — 
all  these  mightily  subdue  and  impress  us.  The  animal 
speaks  out  in  noise  and  shout ;  the  spirit  in  the  solemn 
stillness  of  the  soul.  A  church  fallen  into  silence  after  a 
congregation  has  retired,  often  seems  even  more  like  the 
house  of  God  than  when  filled  with  the  sounding  praises 
of  the  people.  I  love  to  glide  into  the  sanctuary  when 
thus  empty  of  service  and  worshipers,  and  lift  my  heart 
in  voiceless  prayer.  At  such  moments  one  can  sympa- 
thize with  the  ideas  of  worship  prevailing  among  the 
Society  of  Friends. 

*Dean  Stanley— "  History  Jewish  Church,"  vol.  II.,  p.  343- 


50  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

The  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  Jesus  has  been 
compared  to  the  descent  of  a  dove.*  Have  you  ever 
seen  a  turtle-dove  or  wood-pigeon  alight  in  the  open 
fields  ?  There  is  a  scarcely  audible  flutter  of  wings  as  it 
falls.  It  drops  down  from  the  air  and  settles  upon  the 
ground  or  neighboring  tree  so  silently  that  you  are 
startled  by  its  presence  ere  you  had  thought  it  near.  In 
this  respect,  if  in  no  other,  it  is  a  fitting  symbol  of  that 
divine  Spirit  who  so  often  speaks  to  the  children  of  men 
in  the  still  small  voice. 

These  reflections  should  give  us  hope  and  confidence 
in  the  final  success  of  the  truth  and  kingdom  of  God. 
Man's  heart  is  a  tough  and  stubborn  piece  of  mechanism. 
Nevertheless  it  is  susceptible  to  the  influences  of  gentle- 
ness, persistently  and  lovingly  laid  upon  him,  and  by 
these  influences  God  is  constantly  working.  We  may 
not  hear  the  moving  wings  of  the  Holy  Dove  as  he 
alights  among  us.  We  may  not  mark  his.  coming,  or 
"  the  hiding  of  his  power."f  His  way  may  be  in  the  sea, 
his  paths  in  the  great  waters,  and  his  footsteps  not  known,]; 
yet  nevertheless  let  us  believe  that  he  will  accomplish 
his  purpose,  and  win  at  last  the  world  to  himself. 

The  Sabbath  !  How  easily  does  our  theme  glide  into 
thoughts  of  the  holy  quiet  of  the  divine  day  of  rest!  It 
is  the  time  when  above  all  others  God  appears  as  "  the 
dew  unto  Israel;"  when  his  heavenly  speech  "distills 
as  the  dew"  upon  our  spirits,  when  our  Divine  King's 
"favor  is  as  dew  upon  the  grass"  to  our  needy  and  seek- 
ing souls.  Then  indeed  do  our  lips  take  up  the  an- 
cient benediction  of  Jacob  and  say,  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord 
for  the  precious  things  of  heaven,  for  the  i\c\v  !" 

With  silent  awe  I  hail  the  sacred  morn, 

That  slowly  wakes  while  all  the  fields  are  still  ! 
A  soothing  calm  on  every  breeze  is  borne  ; 

A  graver  murmur  gurgles  from  the  rill  ; 

And  echo  answers  softer  from  the  hill  ; 
And  softer  sin^s  the  linnet  from  the  thorn  ; 

The  skylark  warbles  in  a  tone  less  shrill. 
Hail !   Light  serene  !    1  Iail !  Sacred  Sabbath  morn  ! 

The  rooks  float  silent  by  in  airy  drove  ; 
The  sun  a  placid  yellow  lustre  throws  ; 


*Matt.  iii.  16.     fHabakkuk  hi.  4.     t  Psalm  lxxvii.  19. 


THE  DEW— GOD'S  SILENT  BLESSINGS.  5  I 

The  gales  that  lately  sighed  along  the  grove 
Have  hushed  their  downy  wings  in  dead  repose  ; 

The  hovering  rack  of  clouds  forgets  to  move — 
So  smiled  the  day  when  the  first  morn  arose.  * 

II.  The  timeliness  of  the  divine  blessings  is  another 
lesson  taught  us  by  the  dew. 

There  are  lands  that  do  not  know  the  nurturing  in- 
fluences of  the  rains  of  heaven,  but  yet  are  fertile  by 
reason  of  the  dews  that  continually  descend  upon  them. 
Even  in  lands  favored  with  regular  showers  as  was  the 
case  with  Palestine,  the  dew  had  a  large  and  helpful 
influence  in  equalizing  the  harvests  year  by  year  by 
neutralizing  the  results  of  drought.  The  principal  sea- 
sons when  a  provision  of  the  nature  of  dew  is  needed  in 
the  Holy  Land,  and  when  it  is  so  abundantly  given,  are 
summer  and  autumn.  Then  six  consecutive  months  of 
drought  occur  regularly,  even  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances.  From  about  the  first  week  in  May  to  the 
middle  of  October,  in  the  usual  course,  no  drop  of  rain 
falls,  and  throughout  the  twelve  hours  of  each  day  the 
sun  shines  with  great  strength,  unveiled  by  a  single 
cloud.  In  the  autumn  the  thermometer  has  been  known 
to  register  1180  Fahrenheit  in  the  shade  of  the  hot 
plains. t  In  other  words,  the  dew  comes  in  just  where 
and  when  it  is  most  needed,  adding  greatly  to  its  bene- 
fits by  the  timeliness  of  its  coming. 

I  am  glad  to  believe  that  this  is  in  accordance  with 
the  modes  of  Divine  working  amongst  the  children  of 
men.  The  souls  who  most  need  the  Master's  tender  care 
are  those  whom  He  most  seeks  to  bless.  The  moments 
of  our  life  which  are  most  barren  of  ordinary  joys  and 
blessings,  are  those  moments  in  which  we  may  most 
securely  depend  upon  the  answering  help  of  our  Al- 
mighty Father.  When  the  heart  is  parched  by  drought 
and  scorched  by  the  sun;  when  the  rain-laden  clouds 
refuse  to  gather  or  gather  only  to  deceive  our  hopes  ; 
when  the  showers  fall  not  and  we  lie  barren  of  hope  and 
joy  before  God,  then — even  then,  yes,  especially  then  will 

*John  Leyden.  f  Rev.  James  Neil — "Palestine  Explored," 
ch.  V.,  pp.  133-4- 


52  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

He  come  to  us  if  we  truly  seek  Him.     God  does  not 

seek  us  because  we  are  saints,  but  to  make  us  saints  ;  He 
does  not  visit  us  because  our  hearts  are  full,  but  in  order 
to  fill  them.  Human  sorrow  is  small  attraction  to  men, 
but  is  the  lodestone  that  draws  to  us  the  Spirit  of  God. 
One  of  the  sweetest  sacred  lyrics  of  an  Irish  bard  has 
hymned  this  thought: 

O  thou  who  driest  the  mourner's  tear, 

How  dark  this  world  would  be, 
If,  pierci-d  by  sins  and  sorrows  here. 

We  could  not  fly  to  thee  ! 

The  friends,  who  in  our  sunshine  live, 

When  winter  comes,  are  flown  ; 
And  he  who  has  but  tears  to  give, 

Must  weep  those  tears  alone. 

But  thou  wilt  heal  that  broken  heart, 

Which,  like  the  plants  that  throw 
Their  fragrance  from  the  wounded  part. 

Breathes  sweetness  out  of  woe. 

Then  sorrow,  touched  by  thee,  grows  bright. 

With  more  than  rapture's  ray  ; 
As  darkness  shows  us  worlds  of  light, 

We  never  saw  by  day. 

Yes,  there  is  a  timeliness  in  the  help  of  heaven  which 
Christian  hearts  have  learned  to  count  upon  with  the 
utmost  confidence.  "As  thy  days  so  shall  thy  strength 
be."f     "  My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."! 

It  seems  tome  that  in  this  respect  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  surely  like  the  dew  in  lands  unwatered  by  the 
rains  of  heaven.  For  most  human  souls  destiny  lies 
between  Religion  or  barrenness.  There  is  nothing  but 
the  heavenly  gift  of  Faith  that  can  cause  a  desert  heart 
to  rejoice  and  a  wilderness  life  to  blossom  as  the  rose. 
If  Christ  come  not  and  stay  not  with  blessings  in 
this  sinful  and  grief-stricken  world,  then  indeed  are  we 
hopeless.  We  scan  in  vain  the  wide  horizon  ot  earthly 
attainments,  literature,  science,  mechanics,  law,  politics, 
in  search  of  fitting  nurture  for  needy  souls.  Only 
from  those  sacred  treasures  of  grace  out  of  which  distills 
the  dew  of  a  divine  blessing  can  we  hope  for  that 
which  shall  make  our  hearts  verdant  with  the   hopes  of 


•  Thomas  Mooki:.     t  Deut.  xxxiii.  25.     J  II.  Cor.  xii.  9. 


THE  DEW— COD'S  SILENT  BLESSINGS.  5  3 

immortality,  joyful  with  the  brightness  of  the  Rose  of 
Sharon,  fragrant  with  the  sweetness  of  the  Lily  of  the 
valley,  rich  with  the  fruitage  of  a  holy  and  helpful  life. 

Yes,  yes !  only  the  heavens,  the  heavens  of  God  can 
drop  down  dew  upon  the  heart-wastes  and  desolations 
of  this  world.  Oh!  I  would  despair,  utterly  despair  of 
finding  solace  and  strength  for  the  multitude  of  hearts 
whom  I  know  to  be  daily  walking  through  this  vale  of 
tears  in  utmost  bitterness  of  spirit,  were  not  Christ  in 
view  !  Every  week,  sometimes  every  day  it  is  my  duty 
to  share  the  burden  of  others'  sorrows.  I  stand  by 
shattered  urns  which  had  been  the  repository  of  hopes, 
plans,  and  loves  of  men  who  bow  mourning  above  the 
ruins.  A  merchant  stands  dazed  amidst  the  wreck  of 
his  once  colossal  fortunes.  A  poor  laborer  stands  in 
the  market  place  all  the  day  idle,  sighing  "  no  man 
hath  hired  me,"  although  wife  and  weans  in  hunger  and 
want  await  his  coming  home.  Helpless  women  look 
upon  their  helpless  children,  and  watch  the  meal  in  the 
barrel  daily  lessening  like  that  of  the  widow  of  Sarepta, 
and  wonder  when  their  unwise  husbands  will  turn  from 
"the  strike"  dictated  too  often  by  selfish  agitators,  to 
give  back  hands  of  ready  toil  to  work  that  will  bring 
daily  bread  and  fuel. 

A  young  husband  bends  at  the  bier  of  his  youthful  wife 
whom  he  must  bury  to-morrow  out  of  his  sight,  mourn- 
ing that  love's  young  dream  has  so  quickly  vanished 
away,  and  that  all  his  cherished  hopes  are  as  the  morn- 
ing cloud.  An  old  man  sits  in  his  arm-chair,  leans  upon 
his  staff  and  gazes  at  the  vacant  places  by  his  hearth- 
stone, while  memory  recalls  the  forms  of  loved  ones  who 
once  peopled  that  sacred  spot.  There  was  the  wife  of 
his  youth,  and  merry-hearted  children  were  there  who 
cheered  his  days  with  prattle,  laughter,  and  song.  Alas! 
they  all  "have  been  scattered  like  roses  in  bloom,  some 
at  the  bridal  and  some  at  the  tomb."  Then,  there  are 
other  sorrows,  "  living  sorrows  "  we  call  them,  which 
we  may  not  mention  here,  but  are  borne  wearily  and 
almost  despairingly  by  souls  that  faint  beneath  them,  or 
stagger  on  through  life  dumbly  enduring  the  destiny 
which  seems  beyond  reach  of  hopeful  cure. 


54  THE  COS  TEL  IN  NATURE. 

What  is  there  for  souls  like  these?  Is  there  indeed 
neither  comfort  nor  cure  ?  There  is  nothing  purely  of 
earth — absolutely  nothing!  What  then?  Then,  there 
are  Faith  and  Hope  and  Heaven  !  Faith  in  God,  assu- 
rance <>f  the  comfort  which  Heaven  bestows,  strength 
that  distills  like  the  dew  into  men's  spirits  day  by  day, 
the  hope  that  beyond  this  troubled  career  there  shall 
open  fir  them  the  dawn  of  Heaven — these  abide  with 
men  because  their  nature  and  needs  require  them. 

.Man's  heart  also  belongs  to  Nature,  and  all  Nature  in 
man  rises  in  revolt,  and  cries  out  in  abhorrence  against 
those  who  would  blot  from  the  heavens  of  God  the  stars 
of  human  hope  that  light  up  for  us  the  night  of  tears,  and 
point  to  that  world  beyond  where  night  and  sorrow,  pain 
and  parting  are  known  no  more,  and  "joy  cometh  in 
the  morning."  The  infidel,  even  though  he  dare  speak  in 
the  name  of  Nature,  nevertheless  denies  Nature,  tramples 
Nature  underfoot,  disregards  its  laws  and  all  its  voices; 
for  Nature  in  the  heart  of  man  cries  out  with  quenchless 
eagerness  for  God  and  immortality! 

The  last  utterance  of  the  Poet  Laureate  of  England  in 
his  "  New  Locksley  Hall,"  has  some  striking  likenesses  in 
the  general  trend  and  tone  of  thought  to  the  last  song  oi 
the  American  bard  which  I  quoted  a  Sundayag  >.  Ten- 
nyson's conclusion  is  at  one  with  Lowell's,  and  they 
together  point  us  to  faith  in  God  and  Heaven. 

Only  That  which  made  us,  meant  us  to  be  mightier  by  ami  by, 
Set  tin-  sphere  of  all  the  boundless  heavens  within  the  human  eye. 

Sent  the  shadow  of  Himself,  the  Boundless,  thro' the  human  soul. 
Boundless  inward,  in  the  atom,  boundless  outward,  in  the  Whole. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

Ere  she  gain  her  heavenly  Inst,  a  <  Jod  must  mingle  with  the  game  : 
Nay,  there  may  be  those  about  us  w  hich  we  neither  see  nor  name. 

Pelt  within  us  as  ourselves,  the  powers  of  good,  the  powers  of  ill, 

Strowing  halm,  or  shedding  poison  in  the  fountains  of  the  will. 

Follow  you  the  Star  that  lights  a  desert  pathway,  yours  and  mine 
Forward,  till  you  see  the  highest  1  luman  Nature  is  I  >ivine. 

Follow    Light,   and  do   tin-    Right— for  man   can   half  control    his 

doom — 

Till  you  find  the  Deathless  Angel  seated  in  the  vacant  ton.' 


•Lord  Tennyson—" Locksley  Hall  Sixtj  Years  Aft< 


THE  DEW— GOD'S  SILENT  BLESSINGS.  5  5 

1.  This  is  a  lesson  which  Christians  may  profitably 
learn  in  their  relations  to  their  fellows.  You  know  the 
old  Latin  proverb,  "Bis  dat  qui  cito  dat" — He  gives 
twice  who  gives  quickly.  There  is  a  strong  tendency 
among  us  to  bestow  our  gifts  upon  those  who  give  gifts 
to  us.  We  lay  our  social,  friendly,  and  material  offerings 
upon  laps  that  are  already  filled.  Thus  oftentimes  our 
gifts  are  wasted.  They  go  to  those  who  do  not  appreciate 
them,  who  do  not  need  them,  whose  hearts  are  filled  to 
surfeiting,  and  have  little  added  gladness  therefrom.  I 
do  not  mean  that  the  opulent  have  no  occasion  for  ex- 
pressions of  sympathy  from  their  friends.  Nay !  often- 
times their  hearts  are  empty  and  solitary  amidst  their 
material  abundance.  A  timely  word  of  sympathy,  a 
note  of  condolence,  a  simple  gift  of  flowers  or  books, 
an  appropriate  poem,  tractate,  or  sermon  sent  through 
the  mail,  these  or  such-like  things,  even  though  of  little 
value  in  themselves,  will  carry  to  such  lonely  hearts  a 
blessing  that  silver  and  gold  could  not  bestow,  because 
rich  in  the  tenderness  and  sympathy  with  which  they  are 
freighted. 

But  in  those  wider  fields  where  men,  women,  and 
children  are  called  upon  to  bear- the  burden  and  heat  of 
life's  struggle,  there  is  a  special  need  that  Christian 
hearts  should  learn  the  lesson  of  timely  helpfulness.  It 
is  not  every  one  indeed  who  possesses  the  delicate  spirit 
to  discern  and  the  gracious  tact  to  meet  the  difficulties 
of  which  we  are  thinking,  but  all  can  at  least  study 
these,  and  always  a  warm  and  honest  heart,  a  sympathy 
pure  and  sincere,  will  fall  upon  such  time  and  manner 
as  will  best  supply  the  barrenness  of  weary  and  em- 
bittered lives  by  the  distilled  dews  of  Christian  aid. 
Happy  is  he  who  knows  how  and  when,  as  well  as  what, 
to  give. 

III.  There  is  yet  another  lesson  which  Holy  Scripture 
brings  to  us  under  the  form  of  dew,  the  Transient  Char- 
acter of  much  Human  Goodness. 

"  Oh,  Ephraim,  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee  ?  Oh  Judah, 
what  shall  I  do  unto  thee,  for  your  goodness  is  as  a 
morning  cloud,  and  as  the  early  dew  it  goeth  away!" 


56  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

(Hosca  vi.  4.)  Of  how  man)-  persons  may  this  sad 
complaint  be  spoken  ?  How  many  resolves  made  since 
this  new  year  was  born  to  lead  a  better  life,  to  prac- 
tice goodness  and  shun  evil,  have  already  been  dis- 
pelled as  dew  by  the  morning  sun?  There  is,  per- 
haps, this  difference  to  be  noticed — the  dew  vanished 
and  left  a  blessing.  These  broken  resolves,  do  they  leave 
the  heart  any  better?  Rather,  it  is  to  be  feared,  the 
heart  is  harder  and  the  mind  more  perverted  because  of 
these  failures  to  fulfill  VOWS.  Alas!  how  sad  it  is  that 
the  soul  should  once  taste  the  sweetness  of  the  heavenly 
dew  and  then  turn  from  it;  that  God  should  once  be 
seen  and  grasped  and  then  permitted  to  vanish  away 
from  life!  Are  there  any  here  to  whom  Mich  sadness 
has  come?  Let  me  pray  you  turn  again  with  prepared 
and  receptive  heart  unto  Him  who  has  graciously  prom- 
ised to  heal  your  backslidings.  I  lis  voice  still  calls, 
"  Return  unto  Me!"  Still  the  Father  waits  to  welcome 
the  home-coming  prodigal. 

Will  you  come  to  Him  to-day?  How  long,  how 
much  longerwill  you  wait?  How  manytimes  haveyou 
resolved  to  seek  the  blessedness  of  him  whose  sins  are 
forgiven,  whose  iniquities  are  pardoned  ?  How  many  half- 
formed  resolutions  lie  along  the  pathway  of  your  reli- 
gious experience?  Rose-buds!  How  we  love  them, 
for  they  speak  to  us  of  the  future.  They  are  beautiful 
prophecies  of  immortality  and  resurrection,  and  there- 
fore we  lay  them  around  the  coffins  of  our  dead.  There 
they  speak  to  us  through  their  beautiful  symbolism  ol  a 
life  which  here  is  all  unfolden,  only  the  budding  forth  ^\ 
the  life  which  shall  be  when  unfolded  into  full  form  and 
dness  in  Heaven.  Rose-buds!  The  bride  bears 
them  in  her  wedding  bouquet  as  she  goes  to  those  joy- 
ful vows  which  unite  her  in  love  with  the  man  ol  her 
choice.  Tluy  are  t<>  her,  and  to  all  who  surround  her, 
tokens  of  promise;  prophecy  of  a  life  of  happiness, 
which  from  the  budding  joys  of  the  marriage  hour  shall 
untold  from  year  to  year  into  the  fuller  happin 
long  wedded  life.  Rose-buds!  The  maiden  wears  them 
on  her  b<  »s<  mi  at  that  interesting  hi  >ur  1  »f  her  lite'  w  hen  she 
is  introduced  by  parents  or  friends  to  the  social  circles  in 


THE  DEW— GOD'S  SILENT  BLESSINGS.  57 

which  her  life  must  move.  Indeed,  we  call  our  maidens 
"  Rose-buds"  in  the  season  of  their  "  coming  out."  A 
not  unfitting  word,  for  it  bespeaks  the  high  hopes 
of  friends  that  the  sweet  life  of  the  daughter  of  their 
love,  now  but  in  the  bud,  shall  fulfill  the  prophecy  of 
the  beautiful  symbol,  and  open  out  to  the  full  fragrance 
and  beauty  of  a  noble  womanly  life. 

Rose-buds!  Ah,  but  if  the  buds  shall  never  bloom? 
If  they  remain  buds  forever?  If  there  come  not  to 
them  that  fullness  of  life  which  we  call  the  seed,  within 
whose  germs  lies  the  fulfillment  of  all  plant  prophecy ; 
if  the  promise  wrapped  up  within  half-closed  petals  be 
never  fulfilled — what  then?     What  then? 

Such,  my  friends,  are  lives  that  promise  and  never  ful- 
fill. Lives  that  shed  a  momentary  fragrance,  that  give  a 
passing  glow  of  beauty,  that  add  richness  and'  warmth 
to  cheeks  that  blush  already  with  pleasure  and  health,  that 
cast  a  momentary  glow  upon  the  face  of  death,  but  noth- 
ing more!  Lives  unopened,  prophecy  unfulfilled,  wasted 
lives!  "Nothing  but  leaves!"  Nurtureless  dew-drops 
on  fruitless  leaves  that  pass  away  unblessing  and  un- 
blessed! 

Oh!  let  not  the  half-formed  resolutions  of  this  hour 
be  set  towards  such  a  destiny!  Rather,  through  the 
grace  of  a  divine  Saviour  waiting  to  help  you  and  the 
high  purpose  of  your  own  will,  may  the  buds  of  this 
day's  promise  open  from  year  to  year  more  and  more 
until  the  light  of  heaven  shall  reveal  their  beauty,  and 
exhale  their  fragrance  in  the  very  Garden  of  the  Lord. 
There  they  shall  bloom  forever,  sprinkled  with  the  dia- 
mond dew-drops  of  the  Eternal  Morning. 


LECTURE  IV. 


The  Dew  of  Hermon. 

"Behold,  how  good  and  liozv  pleasant  it  is  for 
bretJiren  to  dwell  together  in  unity!  It  is  *  *  * 
as  the  dew  of  Hermon,  and  as  the  dew  that  descend- 
ed upon  the  mountains  of  Zion :  for  there  the  Lord 
comma?ided  the  blessing,  even  life  for  evermore." — 
Psalm  cxxxiii.  i,  3. 


THE  DEW  OF  HERMON. 


During  summer  in  Palestine  vegetation  becomes  much 
parched  in  consequence  of  the  continuous  rainless  heat, 
and  would  be  altogether  scorched  from  the  face  of  the  earth 
but  for  the  following  beautiful  provision.  At  such  time, 
and  more  especially  towards  its  close  in  the  latter  part 
of  August  and  during  September  and  October,  the  pre- 
valent westerly  winds  bring  an  immense  quantity  of 
moisture  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The  watery  ele- 
ment, with  which  the  sea  air  is  charged,  becomes  con- 
densed when  it  meets  the  cold  night  air  upon  the  land; 
for  in  Syria  the  nights  are  often  as  cold  as  the  days  are 
hot,  a  fact  which  Jacob  lamented  three  thousand  six  hun- 
dred years  ago.  This  condensation,  or  cloud-forming, 
happens  more  especially  when  the  damp  winds  reach  the 
hills,  over  the  surface  of  which  their  liberated  moisture 
rolls  in  masses  of  dense  mist,  which  leave  everywhere  in 
their  progress  an  immense  amount  of  that  which  answers 
to  the  "  dew"  of  the  Bible. 

Since  the  vapor  becomes  condensed  in  the  air  before 
touching  the  ground,  in  the  strict  scientific  sense  of  the 
word  it  rather  resembles  the  lightest  form  of  Scotch 
mist.  But  then  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  mist  in 
Palestine  never  occurs  in  the  daytime,  but  only  forms 
during  the  night,  when  by  radiation  the  earth  has  thrown 
off  its  heat,  and  the  cool  air  above  it  condenses  the  moist- 
ure borne  by  the  breezes  from  the  sea.  From  its  coming 
only  during  the  hours  of  the  night,  from  its  not  falling 
like  other  rain  from  the  upper  air,  from  its  separation 
into  very  fine  particles  and  not  appearing  to  fall  in  drops, 
from  the  general  appearance  it  leaves  behind,  and  from 
its  effect  ceasing  to  be  seen  when  the  sun  grows  hot,  it 
was  rightly  held  to  differ  so  much  from  the  nature  of  or- 
dinary rain  as  to  require  to  be  distinguished  by  a  special 

(61) 


62  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

technical  term,  "  tal"  which,  fortunately  for  the  English 
reader,  our  translators  have  uniformly  rendered  in  each 
instance  by  the  word  "dew.'' 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  whenever  we  read  of  the 
"dew"  in  our  Bible  we  must  not  understand  such  dew 
as  we  have  in  this  country,  but  this  copious  mist  shed- 
ding small,  invisible  rain,  that  comes  in  rich  abundance 
every  night  about  twelve  o'clock  in  the  hot  weather 
when  west  or  north-west  winds  blow,  and  which  brings 
intense  refreshment  to  all  organized  life.  Mr.  Neil,  to 
whose  admirable  studies  of  Palestine  I  am  largely  in- 
debted for  these  introductory  facts,  calls  this  phenom- 
enon " night  mist;"  Dean  Stanley  speaks  of  it  as  the 
"  dews  of  the  mist" 

The  peculiar  features  of  this  rich  provision  of  nature, 
by  which  it  differs  from  and  greatly  excels  any  kind  of 
dew,  and  comes  to  be  of  such  very  great  value,  are 
threefold.  First,  its  falling  only  in  the  hottest  and 
driest  season,  when  no  other  moisture  is  to  be  had. 
ndly,  its  coming  every  night  during  this  period 
when  west  winds  blow,  which  they  do  with  great  regu- 
larity. Thirdly,  its  falling  so  copiously  as  to  supp 
the  moisture  needed  for  vegetation  generally.  The  water 
these  low  clouds  depositf  is  perfectly  sufficient  to  ripen 
the  summer  crops,  to  keep  life  in  the  pastures  of  the 
rt,  to  nourish  the  fig,  fatten  the  berry  of  the  olive, 
and  give  to  the  grape  its  fullness  of  luscious  juice — in  a 
word,  to  revive  and  sustain  all  hardv  forms  of  vegetable 

' 

I.  The  first  lesson  clothed  within  the  imagery  of  dew 
which  we  haw  to  consider  to-day  is  the  Duty  and  1 
edness  of  Brotherly  Unit)-. 

All  readers  of  the  Bible  are  familiar  with  the  exquisite 
n  on  fraternal  love  given  to  the  church  by  the  in- 
spired  Psalmist.     (Ps.  exxxiii.) 


*  "Sinai  and  Palestine,"  page  396.  i  Thus  tin-  seemingly  un- 
natural statement  ol  Prov.  in.  20,  that  the  <  louds  drop  down  dew," 
i^.  exactly  in  accord  with  nature.  |  Rxv.  Jambs  Nbil— "  Palestine 
Explored,"  1  hapter  V    p  .  •  s  138-9. 


THE  DEW  OF  HER  MO  N.  63 

"  Behold  how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is 
For  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity  ! 

Like  the  dew  of  Hermon, 
That  cometh  down  upon  the  mountains  of  Zion: 
For  there  the  Lord  commanded  the  blessing, 
Even  life  for  evermore." 

Read  thus  from  the  Revised  version,  the  thought  would 
seem  to  be  that  just  as  the  dews  descending  upon  Hermon 
are  not  limited  in  their  refreshing  power  to  the  slopes 
upon  which  they  fall,  so  the  refreshing  influence  of 
brotherly  love  diffuses  itself  through  the  whole  commu- 
nity of  Israel,  from  northern  Hermon  to  the  uttermost 
mountains  of  Zion.  The  Authorized  version  reads  a 
little  differently,  and  it  appears  to  present  a  different 
shade  of  thought:  "As  the  dew  of  Hermon  and  as  the 
dew  that  descended  upon  the  mountains  of  Zion  "  are 
words  which  give  the  idea  that  the  refreshing  mists 
which  visit  one  section  of  the  land  visit  all  sections;  a 
statement  of  which  we  may  at  least  say  that  it  is  entirely 
in  accord  with  Nature.  The  thought  seems  to  be  that 
just  as  the  sacred  anointing  oil  poured  forth  upon  the 
high  priest  Aaron,  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  verse, 
diffuses  a  like  fragrance  whether  it  be  on  head,  beard,  or 
garment,  so  the  dew  is  equally  reviving  and  refreshing, 
whether  it  fall  on  the  heights  of  Hermon  or  the  hills  of 
Zion.  Thus,  in  the  delighted  vision  of  the  Psalmist, 
was  it  with  Israel  in  the  day  of  her  perfect  unity.  One 
spirit,  one  purpose,  one  faith,  had  fallen  upon  and  filled 
all  hearts,  whether  coming  from  the  extreme  parts  of 
the  land,  far  away  to  the  north  where  Hermon  lifts  his 
snowy  head  fast  by  the  foot  of  Lebanon,  or  from  those 
sacred  and  more  famous  heights  where  the  city  of  Zion 
sits  among  her  hills.  Where  such  a  spirit  as  this  pre- 
vails, there  the  Lord  commands  his  blessing. 

1.  The  imagery  is  true  of  the  family.  The  happiness 
of  household  life  depends  upon  the  unity  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  it  is  equally  true  that  its  prosperity  is  closely 
related  to  the  same.  There  is  no  more  attractive  sight 
than  a  family  united  in  the  bonds  of  a  holy  affection. 
They  are  strong  because  theyare  happy,  happy  because 


64  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

they  arc  united.  In  such  a  household  the  angel  of  love 
is  continually  playing  upon  the  heartstrings  soft  melo- 
dies that  float  through  the  soul  like  voices  of  birds  in 
the  morning.  Their  echoes  roll  out  upon  the  wati 
.strife  like  the  Lord's  commanded  "  Peace,  be  still!"  on 
Stormy  Galilee.  These  are  indeed  songs  in  the  night. 
We  may  well  pray  God  that  the  angel  of  domestic 
may  thus  sing  to  us  all  and  make  us  all  such  singers. 
The  children's  hymn  is  very  sweet  and  true: — 

"There  is  beauty  all  around 
When  there's  love  at  home  ; 
There  is  joy  in  every  sound 

When  there's  love  at  home." 

2.  In  national  relations  we  know  how  certain  it  is  that 
in  unit;/  there  is  strength.  All  the  blessings  of  national 
life  are  scattered  before  the  winds  of  discord  ;  but  up*  in  a 
united  people  prosperity  and  peace  are  sure  to  descend 
even  as  dew  upon  the  mountains  from  Hermon  unto 
Zion.     Our  own  nation  is  known  as  the  "  United  Si 

or  as  it  is  more  briefly  expressed,  the  "Union."  In  the 
very  terms  there  is  a  teaching  of  the  fact  that  our 
national  vigor  and  prosperity,  our  good  name  among 
nations,  nay,  our  very  life  depend  upon  the  preservation 
of  those  bonds  by  which  the  widely-separated  sections  of 
the  country  are  united  into  one  nation — "Distinct  like 
the  billows,  yet  one  like  the  sea." 

3.  It  is  in  the  matter  of  religious  and  church  life,  how- 
ever, that  we  need  here  most  to  consider  the  lesson  which 
the  dew  brings  us.  The  prosperity  ^f  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ,  its  glory  and  beauty  in  the  eyes  of  the 
nations,  must  ever  depend  upon  the  spirit  of  brotherly 
love  which  it  maintains.  It  has  often  been  a  reproach  to 
the  Church  Universal  <>r  Catholic  that  it  is  divided  into 
many  sections  6?  u       I         In  so  for  as  this  has  any  just 

cause,  it  is  our  duty,  and   it   ought  to  be  our  pleasure,  to 

labor  to  remove  it.  First,  however,  we  require  to  know 
what  is  the  true  ground  of  reproach  in  the  premises. 
The  adversaries  of  the  Church  may  have  exaggerated 

facts,  and  those  who  have  not  thought  deeply  enough 


THE  DEW  OF  HER  MO  X.  65 

upon  the  subject  of  church  catholicity,  may  have  misun- 
derstood it.  If  we  look  beneath  the  surface  of  external 
differences,  we  may  often  find  substantial  unity.  May  it 
not  be  so  with  the  Church? 

He  who  will  run  his  thoughts  backward  along  the  en- 
tire history  of  the  Church  shall  find  a  substantial  concen- 
sus of  faith  in  the  central  truths  of  Christianity.  It 
would  be  possible  to  select  from  every  branch  of  the 
Church,  to-day,  a  college  of  learned  theologians  who 
would  express  unity  of  faith  upon  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  religion.  The  being  of  God;  the  existence  of 
God  in  the  tri-personality  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost;  the  doctrine  of  Providence;  the  immortality  of 
the  soul ;  the  inspiration  and  Divine  authority  of  Holy 
Scripture;  the  life  and  ministry  of  Christ;  his  passion 
upon  the  cross;  his  resurrection  from  the  grave;  his 
ascension  into  heaven ;  his  intercession  for  his  people 
forever — these  are  truths  upon  which  the  Church  has 
always  been,  as  it  is  to-day,  substantially  one.  The 
Apostles'  Creed,  so  called,  is  accepted  and  uttered  with 
little  change  of  form,  and  certainly  with  no  essential 
change  of  meaning,  by  all  who  to-day  confess  and  call 
themselves  Christians.  Here  is  unity,  if  there  be  not 
uniformity.  One  type  of  doctrine  fundamental  to  Chris- 
tianity marks  the  Church  catholic. 

Undoubtedly  there  is  a  difference  in  the  external  forms 
in  which  these  fundamental  truths  are  presented  to  the 
world.  But  why  should  not  the  Church  be  permitted  a 
liberty  which  is  everywhere  manifest  in  nature?  Varie- 
ty is  as  certainly  a  character  of  the  natural  world  as 
unity.  The  dew  is  one,  but  I  venture  the  doubt  whether 
any  two  kindred  drops  are  moulded  into  exactly  the 
same  shape  and  size.  The  tree  is  one,  but  there  are  no 
two  leaves  upon  the  tree  that  are  shaped  precisely  alike. 
The  fruit  of  the  tree  is  one,  but  there  are  no  two  apples 
hanging  from  the  boughs  that  are  modeled  alike.  You 
cast  your  eye  over  a  landscape,  and  your  heart  rejoices 
in  the  harmony  unfolded  from  the  scene  before  you,  yet 
there  is  everywhere  a  difference  in  manifestation.  In 
the  beauty  and  grace  of  the  forms  which  you  see,  in  the 
spirit  which  insensibly  reveals  itself  to  you  from  wood 


66  THE  Gt  )SPEL  IN  \.  1  77  'RE. 

and  stream,  lake,  meadow,  and  mountain  side,  you  feel  the 
sense  of  oneness.  One  Mind  has  evidently  planned  all 
this.  One  1  land,  through  whatever  channels  of  physical 
force,  has  manifestly  moulded  all  this.  Yet,  when  group 
1>\  group  and  item  by  item,  you  turn  your  eye  and 
thought  upon  the  objects  of  this  landscape,  you  note  how 
wide  the  difference  is  between  the  one  and  the  other. 

May  it  not  be  thus  also  with  the  Church  of  the  living 
God?  May  not  the  blessing  of  Divine  grace  rest,  and 
the  sweetness  of  brotherly  unity  abide  equally  upon  the 
hills  of  God's  universal  Zion,  whether  they  tower  from 
tiic  north  in  the  peaks  of  Hermon,  or  roll  away  south- 
ward to  the  mountains  round  about  Jerusalem  ?  lam 
n<-t  justifying  those  differences  in  the  external  manifesta- 
tions of  Christ's  Church  which  are  set  so  sharp-edged, 
ami  reared  so  mountainous  high  that  they  divide  be- 
tween followers  of  Christ,  and  keep  hearts  separate  that, 
like  kindred  drops  of  dew,  would  fain  melt  into  one  and 
fall  together  into  the  sacred  heart  of  the  Divine  Ro 
Sharon.  lam  simply  pleading  for  justice  and  truth  in 
the  face  of  assaults  made  upon  the  Church  from  the 
standpoint  of  its  divided  ranks.  I  ask  that  the  spirit  of 
agreement  in  fundamental  truth  should  be  regarded  in 
all  such  cases,  as  well  as  the  differences  in  external  form 
and  manifestation. 

Not  only  is  there  unity  in  the  fundamental  theology 
of  the  Church,  but  there  is  unity  in  its  fundamental 
Christian  life.  There  is  one  type  of  Christian  character 
which  would  be  accepted  to-day  in  its  substantial  fea- 
tures as  the  type  which  lies  nearest  the  thought  of 
Christ. 

Photography  within  a  few  years  has  presented  to  us 

ilts  gathered  from  what  is  known  as 

th<-   Galton  process.     This  consists  briefly  in  taking  a 

group  of  faces,  many  or  few,  and  causing  them  one 

another  to  be  presented  befol  li/.ed  plate.      The 

time  necessary  to  produce  a  perfect  picture  is  divided 
between  the  members  of  tin-  whole  gr«>up  so  that  to  each 
one  but  a  fraction  of  a  minute  maybe  allowed.  The 
result  is  curious  and  instructive.  I  have  here  before 
me  a  series  of  such  composite  photographs.     One  pre- 


THE  DEW  OF  HER  MO  X.  6  J 

sents  the  picture  of  sixteen  naturalists.*  The  resulting 
face  is  one  which  has  caught  the  harmonious  features  of 
each  individual  and  rejected  those  which  are  not  com- 
mon. It  is  what  may  be  called  the  typical  face  of  all 
these  men  of  science.  It  is  a  strong,  manly,  thoughtful, 
and  well-seeming  face.  As  one  looks  upon  it  he  ob- 
serves that  it  is  not  a  close  likeness  of  any  one,  yet  car- 
ries something  of  every  one  of  the  group,  and  thus  he  is 
compelled  to  acknowledge  that  it  is  a  well-defined  and 
typical  countenance. 

When  I  gazed  upon  that  face  for  the  first  time,  my 
thoughts  insensibly  turned  into  the  channel  which  they 
are  here  pursuing.  Is  not  this  a  parable  of  the  Christian 
life  ?  Is  there  not  amidst  all  the  varieties  of  Christian 
men  and  women  a  common  type?  Would  it  not  be 
possible  to  take  from  this  Church  and  that,  from  Latin, 
Greek,  Armenian,  Protestant,  and  from  all  the  represen- 
tative denominations  of  Protestantism,  individuals  whose 
common  characteristics  would  present  to  us  the  typical 
character  of  the  man  of  God  as  he  is  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  I 
believe  that  it  is  possible.  I  am  sure  that  it  is  possible. 
The  "  Imitation  of  Christ"  by  Thomas  A'Kempis  is  a 
book  wrought  out  by  a  disciple  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
but  it  has  found  its  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  Universal 
Church,  and  no  man  asks  or  thinks  as  he  reads  the  de- 
vout meditations  of  this  godly  character,  to  what  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church  did  he  belong?  He  belongs  in 
the  widest  sense  to  "  the  Holy  Catholic  Church."  There, 
indeed,  in  spite  of  whatever  barriers,  he  always  belonged 
and  always  will  be  classed.  His  is  a  typical  character, 
one  which  is  recognized  without  question  in  all  ages  by 
all  believers. 

Again,  look  at  the  subject  in  the  light  of  the  Hym- 
nology  of  the  Church.  There  are  indeed  hymns  through 
whose  refrains  one  may  hear  the  discords  of  denomina- 
tional shibboleths;  but  for  the  most  part  the  hymns  that 
have  fastened  themselves  upon  the  hearts  of  the  devout 
in  any  one  branch  of  the  Church  are  those  hymns  which 
are  loved  and  used  by  all  who  honor  and  love  the  name 

*"Science,"  vol.  V.,  No.  nS,  May  8th,  1SS5. 


68  THE  G(  ks /•/:/.  /x  x.  i  ri  ki:. 

of  Christ.  This  is  true  because  all  genuine  devotion  bears 
the  common  type  of  Christian  character.     In  all  agei  the 

truly  devout  arc  one  in  sympathy,  and  therefore  the  forms 
of  praise  which  utter  the  devotions  of  one  heart  bear 
alike  to  God  the  aspirations  of  another.  The  Calvinistic 
Toplady,  Watts  and  Bonar,  the  Arminian  Wesleys,  the 
Anglican  Ilcber  and  Ken,  the  Tractarian  Keble,  the 
Romanist  Faber,  and  all  the  goodly  company  of  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  Asaph  when  uttering  the  devotions  of 
their  hearts  speak  in  one  tongue.  There  is  something 
divine  in  the  flame  of  sacred  poesy  that  burns  out 
therefrom  the  dross  of  sect.  Pious  tongues  loathe  the 
flavor  of  isms  in  their  holy  songs.  The  hymns  of  the 
most  rigid  denominations  are  rarely  sectarian.  There 
is  not  a  presbyter  or  priest  in  this  whole  hind,  with  due 
tact  and  good  faith,  who  could  not  conduct  a  mission  or 
service  of  song  as  chaplain  of  a  company  ql  soldiers 
made  up  of  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  of  all  phases 
of  ecclesiastical  opinions, without  one  discordant  note  and 
with  perfect  approval  and  enjoyment  of  ail  !  Thus  it 
has  come  that  as  we  open  our  own  1  lymnal, and  it  is  true 
of  every  other  Church,  we  find  their  sacred  songs  jost- 
ling one  another  upon  the  same  page.  Jostling,  did  I 
say?  Nay,  I  recall  the  phrase  and  rather  say,  lovingly 
facing  and  embracing  one  another;  their  thoughts 
equally  borne  up  to  God  upon  the  wings  of  Christian 
devotion  as  the  expression  of  that  type  of  Christian 
character  which  represents  now  as  in  all  ages  the  broth- 
erly unityof  believers. 

!  the  dew  is  one,  whether  it  descend  upon  the 
mountains  Of  Hermon  or  the  hills  ofZion,  and  through 

1  o  >mmandeth  his  blessing,  even  life  for  e\  er  more. 
This  truth  is  never  more  surely  recognized  than  when  we 
stand  together  upon  the  brink  of  the  eternal  world  or  set 

our  faces  outward  and  upward  to  the  great  eternity. 

It  is  a  fact  with  which  we  are  familiar  from  infancy, 

that  all  the  heavenly  bodies,  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  seem 

to  be  set  in  an  azure  vault  which,  rising  high  over  our 

•  i  the  horizon  on  every  side.     This 

tial  vault  above  us,  with  a  corresponding  one  below 

rms  a  i  omplete  sphere,  which  has  been  known  in  all 


THE  DEW  OF  HER  MO  N.  6g 

ages  as  the  celestial  sphere.*  True,  it  is  imaginary,  but 
that  does  not  diminish  its  value  as  enabling  us  to  form 
definite  ideas  of  the  directions  of  heavenly  bodies  from 
us.  Think  of  it!  Those  bodies,  well  nigh  innumerable, 
are  scattered  everywhere  throughout  the  stellar  space, 
and  yet  as  the  eye  looks  heavenward  they  seem  smoothed 
out  upon  the  plane  of  the  celestial  arch,  and  move  in 
groups  and  constellations  of  individual  stars  and  suns 
as  one  host,  the  mighty  host  of  the  heavens  of  God. 
Their  lines  are  never  broken,  their  order  is  never  dis- 
turbed, but  they  march  on  forever  in  harmonious  line, 
and  unity  so  perfect  that  the  expression  "  The  music  of 
the  spheres  "  is  rather  a  fact  of  science  than  a  figure  of 
poetry. 

Thus  it  is,  as  it  seems  to  me,  not  only  with  individual 
Christians,  but  with  those  groups  and  constellations 
known  as  congregations  and  Churches,  when  they  are 
looked  at  with  the  eye  toward  the  infinite  and  eternal 
world.  They  are  all  projected  upon  the  celestial  sphere 
as  one  harmonious  host.  When  we  lift  our  eyes  from 
earth's  narrow  fields;  when  our  vision  rises  above  man's 
passions,  prejudices,  and  ambitions;  when  we  take  the 
wider  range  and  clearer  view  which  come  from  those 
who  have  eternity  in  sight,  one  after  another  the  differ- 
ences that  had  seemed  to  us  great  are  overbridged,  and 
men  and  churches  "  dwell  together  in  unity." 

Surely,  my  friends,  we  must  believe  that  this  is  the  spirit 
and  teaching  of  Christ.  In  his  great  high-priestly  prayer 
in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  John,  He  utters  in  behalf  of 
his  people  the  supplication  thatthey  maybe  one.  We  have 
seen  that  in  a  certain  sense,  perhaps  in  the  deepest  and 
most  important  sense,  that  prayer  has  not  been  refused. 
In  spirit  the  Church  is  one.  Yet  may  we,  and  ought  we 
to  stand  in  our  places  day  by  day,  and  so  wrork  that  the 
differences  between  us  may  be  minimized,  our  common 
resemblances  magnified,  and  the  spirit  of  love  by  which 
we  are  to  be  bound  in  one  be  cultivated  more  and  more. 

Even  those  who  do  not  walk  as  disciples  of  Christ  dis- 
cern this  truth.     The  men  of  France  in  the  barricades  of 

*  Newcomb — "Popular  Astronomy,"  page  7. 


yo  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Paris  once  looked,  it  is  said,  upon  an  image  of  Christ 
and  bowed  to  Him  in  reverence — not  in.  religious  rever- 
ence or  recognition  of  his  place  as  divine  Author  of  the 
faith,  but  because,  as  they  declared,  "  i  [e  first  taught  fra- 
ternity to  men."  Ayel  the  Brotherhood  of  man  lies 
close  within  the  central  doctrine  of  our  theology,  the 
Fatherhood  of  God.  We  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  Let 
no  petty  spirit  of  jealousy  consume  us,  but  whether  the 
dews  of  heaven  descend  upon  this  mountain  or  on  that, 
on  the  hills  ofZion  or  on  the  slopes  of  Hermon,  let  our 
h(  arts  equally  rejoice.  In  the  camp  of  Israel  of  old,  b<  - 
fore  the  tent  of  the  congregation  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
I  upon  the  elders  of  Israel  and  they  prophesied. 
M  inwhile  beyond  those  sacred  precincts  were  two  men, 
Eldad  and  Medad,  on  whom  the  Spirit  also  rested,  and 
they  prophesied  in  the  camp.  Then  there  ran  a  young 
man  and  told  Moses,  and  said  "Eldad  and  Medad  do 
prophesy  in  the  camp!"  Joshua  spoke  up,  (and  one  sees 
how  possible  it  is  for  the  grandest  characters  to  err),and 
said — "  My  lord  Moses,  forbid  them  !"  and  Mos  :s  said 
unto  him,"  Art  thou  jealous  for  my  sake?  would  God 
th.it  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets,  and  that  the 
Lord  would  put  his  Spirit  upon  them  !" 

Moses  was  a  prophet  like  unto  Christ,  and  never  was 
this  likeness  more  manifest  than  on  the  day  when  he 
uttered  ni  broad  :\nd  catholic  a  desire  as  this.  Let  us 
take  up  the  request.  Let  us  hope  for  all  denominations 
and  branches  of  the  Church  of  God,  the  outpoured  spirit 
of  prophecy,  the  bles  in  ,  of  the  Lord  to  descend  as  the 
dew  on  Hermon  and  on  the  hills  of  Zion. 

Brethren,  we  must  do  it!  Enemies  of  the  faith  are 
multiplying  on  every  hand.  It  is  most  unwise  to  show 
our  divisions  in  the  presence  ol  the  foe.  " Divide  it 
intpera" — divide  and  conquer — has  Long  been  a  maxim 
of  the  great  adversary  of  the  Church.  Shall  we  di\  ide  or 
shall-.  :  up  dur  divisions  ?     The  ancient   Romans, 

armed  hield  and  spear,  when  they  moved  forward 

to  the  charge  placed  their  shields  in  front  and  over  their 
heads  inclined  backward,  so  that  shield  lapped  on  shield 


*  Numbers  xi.  26-30. 


THE  DEW  OF  HER  MO  N.  7 1 

like  the  scales  upon  a  fish.  Thus  was  formed  one  solid 
shell  of  opposing  shields,  which  from  this  peculiar  form 
was  known  in  military  parlance  as  the  "testudo  "  or  tor- 
toise. In  solid  phalanx,  and  with  this  solid  covering, 
they  marched  against  their  foes,  whose  arrows  and  spears 
fell  upon  the  common  defense  and  found  no  victim  in 
the  united  ranks. 

Our  Faith  the  Holy  Spirit  has  likened  to  a  shield, 
"  the  shield  of  faith."  Let  churches  and  individual 
Christians  join  shield  to  shield,  and  thus  in  united  rank 
and  solid  host  move  against  the  foes  of  Christ  and  his 
holy  faith.  Be  assured  that  such  union  will  give  us 
strength  and  victory ;  that  the  blessing  of  God  shall  be 
commanded  upon  us,  even  life  forever  more. 

II.  The  next  lesson  is  one  of  encouragement  to  our- 
selves in  the  Discharge  of  daily  Duty,  and  the  Exercise 
of  Ordinary  Influence  among  our  Fellows. 

The  dew-drop,  Ave  are  told,  has  within  it  a  latent 
thunderbolt,  yet  it  melts  away  into  the  corol  of  the  wild 
flower  and  does  its  gentle  work  of  nurture  so  silently 
that  no  ear  can  mark  it.  There  are  many  men,  and  yet 
more  women,  who  sink  mildly  into  the  earth-currents  of 
life  like  a  dew-drop,  who  have  latent  thunder  enough 
within  them  to  shake  society  if  it  should  once  go  forth 
in  that  wise.  But  would  their  power  for  good  be  there- 
by any  greater  ?  Is  not  that  a  false  estimate  of  moral 
forces  which  measures  them  by  the  noise  and  stir,  the 
flash  and  thunderous  echoes  which  result  from  their 
exercise  ?  Are  not  gentleness  and  repose  after  all  the 
mightiest  powers?  Let  those  who  love  and  choose  to 
have  their  words  distill  as  the  dew  remember  that  in  the 
silent,  unobtrusive  acts  of  daily  life  they  may  be  treas- 
uring up  in  other  hearts  forces  which  in  their  final  out- 
come will  give  countless  blessings  to  the  world. 

A  dew-drop  is  a  very  little  thing,  yet  every  drop  of 
dew  is  itself  an  accumulation  of  many  minute  particles 
of  vapor.  These  have  been  distilled  from  the  atmos- 
phere, atom  by  atom,  during  the  night  long,  and  have 
gradually  gathered  together  in  little  beads  of  moisture. 
They  catch  the  morning  sunbeams,  and    glitter   from 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

every  leaf  and  flower  ;  they  shine  like  strings  of  beaded 
pearls  from  the  round  webs  of  Orbweaving  spiders  ;  they 
twinkle  upon  the  flossy  threads  of  Lineweavers  that 
everywhere  mesh  the  bearded  grasses  and  leafy  shrubs; 

they  sparkle  like  diamonds  from  the  whole  lace  of  na- 
ture. 

It  needs  some  such  revelation  as  that  which  the  sun 
gives  to  nature  to  disclose  the  daily  accumulations  and 
whole  life  gatherings  of  "little  deeds  of  kindness,"  little 
words  of  cue,  silent  acts  rendered  almost  unconsciously 
to  our  fellows,  that  distill  from  loving  hearts  and  lips  like 
the  dew  of  evening.  That  revealing  sunlight  may  not 
come  to  us  here,  but  in  the  Future,  when  all  the  issues 
of  life,  when  all  forces  latent  and  manifest,  when  all  ac- 
tions silent  or  audible  shall  be  uncovered  by  the  all- 
searching  lit^ht  of  the  eternal  day  in  the  presence  of  the 
Sun  of  righteousness,  then  shall  come  the  revelation! 
Then  forgotten  or  unknown. deeds  of  hue,  which  have 
distilled  like  vapor  of  evening,  shall  shine  like  dew- 
drops  of  the  morning,  and  be  as  precious  diamonds  in 
the  coronal  of  your  eternal  rejoicing  and  reward. 

III.  Our  third  lesson  teaches  the  Blessedness  of  Charity. 

You  have  observed  when  walking  in  the  country,  or 
through  the  pretty  grounds  that  surround  so  man}-  of  our 
West  Philadelphia  homes,  that  early  in  the  evening  the 
grass  will  already  be  wet  while  the  gravel  walk  over 
which  you  tread,  or  some  outcropping  rock  in  the  midst 
of  the  field,  is  perfectly  dry.  You  perhaps  know  that 
the  reason  is  that  radiation  from  plant  surfaces  is  far 
more  rapid  than  from  sand,  stones, and  gravel.  The  leaves 
give  out  their  heat  rapidly  and  abundantly;  therefore 
the  invisible  moisture  of  the  air  seeks  them,  clings  to 
them, and  gathers  upon  them  in  beaded  dew-drops,  thus 
quenching  their  thirst  and  bringing  nurture  to  their  life. 
Fields,  orchards,  and  forests  are  enriched  with  grain  and 
red  with  fruits  because  they  freely  yield  to  the  air 
daily  and  nightly  the  warmth  that  is  in  them.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  barren  rock  and  sandy  desert  give 
out  nothing  of  the  heat  which  the  sun  has  poured  into 
their  laps  the  whole   day  lone;,  and   lie  arid    and   sterile. 


THE  DEW  OF  HER  MO  N.  73 

Hermon's  grassy  slopes  invited  and  compelled  the  dewy 
mists  to  settle  upon  them,  while  Hermon's  rocky  cliffs 
lay  hard  and  dry. 

Is  there  not  here  also  for  us  a  lesson  from  the  parable 
of  the  dew  ?  He  who  gives  shall  get ;  he  who  gets 
should  give.  "  Unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be  given."* 
He  who  pours  forth  freely  into  this  world  the  warmth 
which  so  freely  came  into  his  own  hand  through  the 
helpful  influences  of  heaven,  home,  society,  church,  and 
state,  shall  find  the  answer  in  richer  gifts  of  heaven, 
which  shall  nurture  and  beautify  his  spiritual  life.  But 
he  whose  soul  is  as  a  rocky  cliff  on  Hermon,  a  stone  in 
the  field  of  this  world,  who  yields  up  nothing  of  that 
warmth  which  heaven  has  poured  upon  him,  may  remain 
eternally  solitary  in  his  own  fruitlessness,  unblest  of 
heaven  because  bringing  no  blessing  to  others.  "  There 
is  that  scattereth  and  increaseth  yet  more  ;  and  there  is 
that  witholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  only  to 
poverty.  The  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat,  and  he  that 
watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himselff  The  dew-drops 
love  a  heat-yielding  surface,  but  shun  the  selfish  rocks 
that  treasure  their  own  warmth  and  yield  nothing  to  the 
air.     Let  us  learn  from  this  a  lesson  also. 

IV.  Our  next  lesson  from  the  dew  is  one  of  Consecra- 
tion of  Early  Life  and  of  Life's  Freshest  Powers  to  God. 

This  duty  is  beautifully  conveyed  to  us  in  the  1 10th 
Psalm  (verse  3):  "Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day 
of  thy  power,  in  the  beauties  of  holiness  from  the  womb 
of  the  morning,  thou  hast  the  dew  of  thy  youth."  There 
is  a  melodious  rhythm  about  this  text  which  has  fixed 
it  in  the  memories  of  many,  but  are  you  right  sure  you 
understand  it  ?  We  shall  understand  it  better,  at  least,  if 
we  learn  that  the  expression  "  youth  "  is  not  equivalent 
to  early  years  or  childhood,  but  is  used  in  the  sense  of 
young  people,  young  men.  The  text  is  therefore  equiv- 
alent to  this — Thy  youth  are  to  thee  as  the  dew  out  of  the 
womb  of  the  morning.  Hengstenburg  reads  it,  "  Thy 
youth-like  soldiers  are  as  dew  for  beauty." 

*  Matt.  xxv.  29.     f  Prov.  xi.  24,  25. 


74  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Now  if  we  turn  to  the  Psalm  we  shall  sec  that  it  is  a 
promise  of  Jehovah  to  the  Divine  Messiah,  and  that  it 
looks  forward  to  the  time  when  men  throughout  the 
Church  and  world  shall  yield  themselves  as  willing  offer- 
ings to  the  Saviour.  "Thy  people  offer  themselves  wil- 
lingly in  the  day  of  thy  power."  Among  those  who  thus 
offer  themselves,  a  most  grateful  gift  indeed,  are  the 
strong  young  men  and  maidens  fair  of  the  land.  These 
are  given  to  God  in  their  morning  freshness  like  the  dew 
for  beauty.  We  might  thus  render  somewhat  freely  the 
see'  md  and  third  vers< 

2.  The  sceptre  of  Thy  righteousness 

I  rom  Zion  shall  the  Lord  send  forth  : 
Be  Ruler,  Thou,  among  Thy  foes  I 

3.  Thy  people  to  Thy  muster  troop 
In  sacred  festal  1  Ires  -  arrayed, 

More  than  the  drop--  of  morning's  womb  ; 
Like  morning  dew  spring  forth  thy  youth. 

Yes,  and  we  may  carry  our  figure  further.  Like  the 
dew  the  holy  youth  shall  come  in  perpetual  succession, 
for  children  are  the  hope  of  the  Church  ;  like  the  drops 
of  dew  they  come  in  number,  too.  Like  the  dew  also 
the_\-  suddenly  appeal',  seen  all  at  once  under  the  new- 
risen  Sun  of  righteousness.  Ami  may  we  not  adopt  an- 
other thought  from  Hengstenburg  and  say  that  they 
come,  "  Altogether  begotten  from  above."f  The  metre 
version  of  Tate  and  Brady  has  thus  expressed  the  com- 
ing to  Christ  of  those  who 

"Shall  .ill,  redeemed  from  error's  night — 
Appear  .is  nnmberless  .md  bright 

As  crystal  drop-  of  morning  dew." 

This  is  indeed  a  sweet  prophecy.      What  hopes  it  stirs 
within  our  hearts  concerning  the  youth  of  this  and  every 
land!     Would  that  these  hopes  to-day mighl  he  fulfilled 
in  the  rendering  up  to  God,  as  a   sweet  and  a 
sacrifice,  all  the  youth  to  whom  this  m  comes! 


Delitsch,  in  i  "  »nar  —  "Commentary  <>:i  th< 

Psalms,"  in  loc 


THE  DE  U '  OF  HERMON.  J  5 

While  the  fragrance  and  the  beauty  of  our  morning  round  us  lies, 
We  would  of  the  heart's  libation  pour  to  Thee  a  sacrifice  ; 
Trustful  that  the  Hand  which  scatters  blessings  every  morning  new, 
Would  refill  the  urn  of  offering,  as  a  floweret  with  the  dew  : 
Pure  and  sweet  the  exhalations  from  a  grateful  heart  to  Heaven  ; 
Unto  Thee  then  be  the  incense  of  our  Cardiphonia  given, 
Ere  the  noontide  sun  shall  wither,  or  the  gathering  twilight  hour 
Closes  the  outpouring  chalice  of  the  morn's  expanded  flower.* 

V.  We  have  yet  another  lesson  to  learn  from  the  dew, 
a  lesson  of  Preparation  to  Receive  the  Gifts  of  God. 

However  full  the  air  may  be  of  invisible  vapor  or 
moisture  in  the  form  of  mist,  there  will  be  no  deposit  of 
dew  until  the  temperature  of  the  earth  has  reached  a 
certain  degree,  which  is  called  "  the  dew  point."  That 
represents  the  point  at  which  vapor  will  condense  upon 
earth  surfaces  in  tiny  drops  of  water.  Now,  Heaven's 
gifts,  like  the  invisible  moisture  of  the  atmosphere,  every- 
where overhang  the  souls  of  men.  They  are  present  in 
the  greatest  abundance,  and  they  come  very  near  to  us. 
We  walk  in  the  midst  of  them.  They  push  themselves 
against  us,  and  solicit  us  to  appropriate  them  to  our- 
selves. Why  then  are  not  our  hearts  enriched  thereby  ? 
Simply  because  we  fail  in  preparation.  We  have  not 
reached  the  spiritual  Dew  Point !  There  are  always  two 
sides  to  this  matter  of  spiritual  blessings.  One  side  is 
that  of  Heaven  which  gives,  gives  freely,  gives  always. 
The  other  side  is  that  of  earth.  It  is  of  you,  my  friend! 
The  mercies  of  God  will  not  be,  and  cannot  be  forced 
upon  an  unwilling  soul.  There  must  be  on  your  part 
that  condition  of  faith  and  willingness  which  will  cause 
the  mercies  of  Heaven  at  once  to  distill  upon  your  heart 
like  the  dew  of  heaven  upon  the  thirsty  grass.  "  Be- 
hold," says  the  Divine  Master,  "  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock.  If  any  man  hear  my  voice  and  open  the  door, 
I  will  come  in."f  "  Open  to  me,  *■  *  *  for  my 
head  is  filled  with  dew,  and  my  locks  with  the  drops  of 
the  night."|  You  hear  that  voice  to-day.  Will  you  open 
the  door  ?  Will  you  seek  that  preparation  of  heart  to 
which  Heaven's  blessings  may  respond  ?  If  so,  be 
assured  that  you  shall  this  hour  be  blessed  by  the  bene- 
dictions of  a  bountiful  God. 

*  Hannah  Lloyd  Neal.     f  Rev.  iii.  20.     %  Canticles  v.  2. 


LECTURE  V. 


Hail :  God's  Reserves  of  War. 

^Hast  thou  seen  the  treasures  of  the  hail,  which  I  haz'e 
reserved  against  the  time  of  trouble,  against  the  day  of 
battle  and  war?'1'' — Job  xxxviii.  22,  23. 


HAIL— GOD'S   RESERVES   OF   WAR. 


We  are  already  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  atmos- 
phere surrounding  us  is  an  immense  ocean  of  vapor. 
Lieutenant  Maury  made  an  estimate  based  upon  the 
average  annual  rain-fall,  which  is  sufficient  to  cover  the 
earth  to  the  depth  of  five  feet,  that  this  atmospheric 
ocean  contains  an  amount  of  water  equal  to  a  lake  six- 
teen feet  deep,  three  thousand  miles  broad,  and  twenty- 
four  thousand  miles  long.*  From  this  reservoir  of 
moisture  we  have  already  learned  that  mist  and  dew 
are  continually  precipitated  upon  the  earth. f  From 
this  same  storehouse  issue  forth  those  other  phenomena 
which  we  have  yet  to  consider — hail,  snow,  and  rain. 
The  challenge  made  to  Job,  "  Hast  thou  seen  the  treas- 
ures of  the  hail  ?"  was  perhaps  unanswerable  in  the  days 
of  the  patriarch.  In  a  measure  it  is  still  unanswered  ; 
but  modern  investigations  in  meteorology  have  enabled 
us  to  draw  aside  the  cloud-curtain,  peep  into  Nature's 
laboratory,  and  obtain  a  reasonably  clear  mental  insight 
of  the  formation  of  hail. 

Hail  is  formed  only  in  summer,  and  is  almost  invaria- 
bly an  accompaniment  of  tornadoes.  It  is  found  in  one 
or  sometimes  two  belts  outside  of  the  tornado  track  and 
parallel  to  it.J 

If  a  large  hailstone  is  cut  in  two  the  centre  or  nucleus 
is  found  to  be  a  minute  snow-ball ;  then  comes  a  ring  of 
clear  ice,  then  a  ring  of  snow-ball-like  conglomerate, 
and  so  on.  This  indicates  that  two  different  influences 
following  each  other  in  repeated  succession  have  caused 
the  formation.     What  are  those  influences? 

A  tornado  or  whirlwind  may  be  described  as  a  hol- 
low cone  of  air  in  violent  spiral  motion  around  its  own 

*  Maury — "Sailing  Directions,"  vol.  I.,  page  28.  1858.  f  Lec- 
tures II.,  III.,  IV.  X  Blasius — "Storms  :  their  Nature,  Classifica- 
tion, and  Laws,"  page  140. 

(79) 


8o  77/A"  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

axis,  which  is  continually  moving  forward.  The  walls  of 
moist  warm  air  arc  in  the  highest  state  of  saturation  and 
compression,  as  well  as  motion  ;  the  centre  or  vortex  is 
com]). natively  calm.  The  humid  air  continually  drops 
into  the  vortex  and  passes  under  conditions  of  much  di- 
minished pressure.  Rapid  expansion  follows  ;  the  tem- 
perature is  greatly  reduced,  the  moisture  condenses  and 
freezes.  Thus  are  formed  the  little  snow-ball  nuclei  of 
the  hailstones.  Up  they  go,  borne  along  their  spiral 
road  by  the  gyrations  of  the  tornado.  As  they  mount 
aloft  they  are  tossed  to  and  fro  in  all  directions  by  the 
surging  air,  aided  perhaps  by  electrical  attraction.  The 
impinging  pellets  are  kneaded  and  balled  together  by 
regelation.  This  process  continues  until  the  weight  of 
the  accumulated  masses  enables  them  to  overcome  the 
vortex  motion  of  the  air  currents  and  the  attraction  of 
electricity  which  is  commonly  formed  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, when  they  break  away  from  the  warring  ele- 
ments in  which  they  had  their  formation  and  fall  to  the 
earth  as  hailstones. 

But  it  is  possible  that  in  the  wild  commotion  of  those 
upper  regions  these  icy  drops  may  not  be  permitted  to 
fall  directly  to  the  ground.  They  may  be  caught  in 
their  descent  upon  the  edges  of  some  eddy  and  whirled 
in  again  towards  the  vortex  bv  the  inflowing  currents, 
and  once  more  be  borne  swiftly  aloft  into  the  freezing 
regions.  This  process  may  occur  again  and  again,  and 
several  revolutions  of  ascent  and  descent  be  made  before 
the  hailstones  are  able  to  fall  to  the  earth.  While  cross- 
ing the  region  lower  down,  where  the}-  meet  the  yet  un- 
frozen rain,  they  receive  a  coat  of  solid  ice  on  precisely 
the  same  principle  that  a  cold  stone  pavement  will  often 
have  an  icy  surface  on  a  warm  winter  morning.  Thus 
alternate  coatings  of  snow  and  ice  are  received,  and  the 
number  of  such  icy  jackets  carried  by  each  hailstone  in- 
dicates the  number  of  revolutions  described  before  they 
began  their  headlong  descent  to  the  ground. 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that  during  the  process 
of  hail  formation  electricity  is  usually  generated.  In 
fact  hail  generally  precedes,  and  sometimes  accompanies 
thunder  and  lightning.    The  sharp  rattling  noise  of  hail- 


HAIL:    GOD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  8 1 

stones  against  each  other  during  a  hail-storm  is  in  part 
probably  electrical,  and  the  electricity  doubtless  has 
something  to  do  in  attracting  the  minute  ice  masses  to 
each  other.  Electricity,  however,  is  not  the  origin  of 
hail  as  has  sometimes  been  supposed,  but  rather  elec- 
tricity and  hail  are  results  of  the  same  combination  of 
causes.  At  all  events  the  association  of  thunder  and 
lightning  with  the  hail-storm  was  observed  by  the  ancient 
writers,  as  may  readily  be  seen  in  the  Psalmist's  noble 
description  of  the  tempest. 

9.   He  bowed  the  heavens  also,  and  came  down ; 
And  darkness  thick  was  underneath  his  feet. 

10.  And  he  rode  upon  a  cherub,   and  did  fly  : 
Yea,  swiftly  flew  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind. 

11.  Darkness  he  made  his  hidingplace,his  pavilion  round  about  him; 
Darkness  of  waters,  and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies. 

12.  Out  of  the  brightness  before  him  there  broke  through  his  clouds, 
Hailstones  and  coals  of  fire  ! 

13.  The  Lord  also  thundered  in  the  heavens, 
And  the  Most  High  uttered  his  voice  ; 
Hailstones  and  coals  of  fire  ! 

14.  And  he  sent  out  his  arrows,  and  scattered  them  ; 
Yea,  lightnings  manifold,  and  discomfited  them.* 

I.  The  hail  teaches  the  Providential  Interposition  of 
God  in  Human  Affairs. 

God  rules.  That  is  a  lesson  which  men  have  learned 
in  all  ages,  and  which  God  himself  will  see  to  it  that  they 
never  shall  forget.  "  Hast  thou  seen  the  treasures  of  the 
hail,"  He  asked  Job,  "  which  I  have  reserved  against  the 
day  of  battle  and  war?  "  What  does  He  mean  by  this  ? 
In  what  sense  are  hail-storms  God's  Reserves  of  War  ? 
"  Reserves,"  in  military  usage,  are  troops  kept  back  from 
the  battle  line  and  held  ready  for  any  exigency.  Is  any 
point  of  attack  weakened  ?  They  are  ordered  to  strengthen 
it.  Does  the  foe  assault  from  some  unexpected  quarter? 
The  "  reserves "  are  ordered  to  meet  him.  Does  he 
waver  so  that  a  little  more  pressure  will  break  his  ranks  ? 
Forth  rush  the  "  reserves  "  to  strike  and  rout  the  waver- 
ing line.  Has  God  such  "  reserves"  held  back  by  Him 
to  turn   the  tide  of  battle,  and   support  his  struggling 

*  Psalm  xviii.  9-14. 


8  2  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  'RE. 

hosts  of  truth  in  an  hour  of  emergency  ?  Yes.  The  allu- 
sion of  the  text  is  plainly  to  a  class  of  facts  in  the  Divine 
Providence  which  have  abundant  illustration  in  the  his- 
tory of  Israel.     Let  us  notice  two  of  these. 

The  battle  of  Beth  Horon  is  not  often  alluded  to  in 
military  histories,  yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  ever 
waged.  It  decided  the  destiny  of  Palestine,  settled  the 
land  firmly  in  the  possession  of  the  Hebrew  nation,  and 
thus  laid  the  foundations  of  that  sacred  history  whose 
opening  chapters  are  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures;  whose  grand  development  appears  in  the 
Christianity  of  the  New  Testament;  whose  magnificent 
continuance  we  may  read  in  the  records  of  the  last 
eighteen  centuries,  and  whose  glorious  unfolding  lies 
before  us  in  that  future  upon  which  the  nations  of  Chris- 
tendom are  entering.  What  was  the  battle  of  Beth 
Horon? 

The  venerable  general,  Joshua,  who  led  the  Hebrew 
hosts  across  the  Jordan,  first  destroyed  Jericho,  which 
was  the  eastern  key  to  the  country  commanding  the 
approach  from  the  plains  of  .the  Jordan  valley.  He  then 
found  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  regions  of 
which  the  heart  of  Palestine  consists,  and  which  had 
to  be  won  before  the  country  could  be  possessed.  He 
began  by  seizing  the  pass  of  Ai.  He  entered  into  a 
treaty  of  offense  and  defense  with  the  citizens  of  Gibeon, 
a  town  at  the  head  of  the  pass,  and  then  marched  back 
to  his  camp  at  Gilgal.  The  Canaanitish  tribes,  enraged  at 
the  conduct  of  their  countrymen,  gathered  from  far  and 
near  and  marched  against  Gibeon  to  destroy  it.  The  Gib- 
eonites  sent  swift  messengers  to  their  new  ally.  Joshua, 
with  the  true  instincts  of  a  great  commander,  saw  that 
the  pivotal  conflict  of  the  war  was  upon  him.  Gibeon 
was  the  key  of  the  interior  country.  To  advance  and 
strike  terror  at  once  into  the  Canaanites  was  a  first  ne- 
cessity. A  forced  march  was  made  up  the  mountain, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  little  more  than  a  night  he  accom- 
plished a  three  days'  journey.  Falling  suddenly  upon 
the  Canaanitish  troops  who  were  beleaguering  the  city  o( 
Gibeon,  he  drove  them  before  him  up  the  mountain 
roads  until  they  reached  the  head  of  the  pass  where  they 


HAIL:    GOD'S  RESERVES  OE  WAR.  83 

could  look  westward  upon  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Over 
the  summits  of  the  mountains  the  Hebrew  soldiers 
poured.  Now  there  came  to  their  aid  those  reserves  of 
war  of  which  the  Almighty  speaks  in  our  text.  A  cloud 
gathered  in  the  eastern  sky.  It  darkened  over  the  hori- 
zon. The  wind  rose ;  flashes  of  lightning  illumined  the 
scene,  and  the  noise  of  elemental  war  mingled  with  the 
sound  of  mortal  battle.  Suddenly  there  fell  from  the 
heavens  a  storm  of  hail.  It  beat  upon  the  backs  of  the 
Hebrew  soldiers,  but  as  it  swept  toward  the  east  it  came 
full  in  the  faces  of  the  army  of  the  Canaanites  as  they 
slowly  retired  towards  the  western  horizon.  "And  it 
came  to  pass  as  they  fled  from  before  the  Lord,  while 
they  were  in  the  going  down  of  Beth  Horon,  that  the 
Lord  cast  down  great  stones  from  heaven  upon  them, 
and  they  died.  There  were  more  which  died  with  the 
hailstones  than  they  whom  the  children  of  Israel  slew 
with  the  sword."*  In  other  words,  the  influence  of  the 
storm  upon  the  already  disheartened  troops  of  Canaan 
was  more  disastrous  than  the  swords  of  the  victorious 
Hebrews. 

Now,  the  devout  warriors  and  people  of  that  olden 
time  believed  that  no  event  came  without  the  permissive 
will  or  active  purpose  of  God.  There  was  no  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  Joshua  and  his  soldiers  that  this  storm 
which  had  prevented  the  enemy  from  rallying  in  the 
familiar  passes  of  Beth  Horon,  and  which  had  enabled 
them  to  push  the  battle  forward  to  the  very  extermina- 
tion of  the  army,  was  a  direct  interposition  of  Jehovah 
their  God.  In  that  hail-storm  they  saw  those  reserves 
of  war  which  God  had  held  back  against  this  day  for 
them,  and  at  the  very  crucial  moment  of  the  fight  had 
let  loose  upon  the  enemy,  and  thus  obtained  for  Israel 
the  victory. 

Take  another  illustration  from  Hebrew  history.  We 
go  forward  a  little  in  point  of  time  to  the  age  of  Deborah, 
the  warrior  prophetess,  judge,  and  poetess  of  ancient 
Israel.  The  Hebrew  people,  by  one  of  those  reverses 
which  are  continually  occurring  in  history,  had  lost  their 

*  Joshua  x.   11. 


84  THE  Gi  )SPEL  IN  NA  TL  HI.. 

grip  upon  the  people  of  the  land  and  were  "  mightily 
oppressed  "  by  King  Jabin  and  his  general  Sisera.*  The 
spirit  of  Deborah  revolted  against  this  degradation. 
She  sought  to  inspire  Barak  to  active  opposition,  and 
when  his  laggard  spirit  refused  the  whole  responsibility, 
she  herself  summoned  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  rendezvous, 
and,  accompanied  by  Barak,  marched  forth  against  the 
Canaanites.  The  scene  of  the  battle  was  the  beautiful 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  It  lies  between  the  foot  hills  of 
Lebanon  on  the  north  where  the  town  of  Nazareth  looks 
down  up<m  it,  and  the  hills  of  Gilboaand  the  mountains 
of  Ephraim  on  the  south.  On  the  west  the  high  shoul- 
der of  Mount  Carmel  pushes  into  it,  and  eastward  are 
the  hills  that  border  the  river  Jordan.  Directly  through 
this  plain  flows  the  river  Kishon  with  its  branches,  which 
are  known  as  the  "waters  of  Megiddo."  In  the  north- 
eastern corner  of  this  plain  Mount  Tabor  rises  upwards 
to  the  height  of  eighteen  hundred  feet,  a  solitary  eleva- 
tion. Along  the  wooded  slopes  of  this  mountain  was 
encamped  the  army  of  Deborah  and  Barak,  numbering 
ten  thousand  foot  soldiers..  Directly  south-westward, 
thirteen  miles  away,  across  the  beautiful  valley  and 
branching  streams  that  flowed  amongst  green  fields  and 
flowrcry  meadows,  the  Canaanitish  tribes  were  encamped 
at  an  ancient  fortress  called  Taanach.  They  were  under 
the  command  of  Sisera. 

That  stretch  of  land  lying  between  the  two  armies  is  a 
famous  battle-field  of  the  old  world.  In  and  adjacent 
to  the  plain  Gideon  achieved  his  triumph  over  the 
Amalekites,  and  here  too  the  glory  of  Israel  was  dark- 
ened for  a  time  by  the  fall  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  upon 
Gilboa.  It  was  adjacent  to  Aphek,  in  the  plain,  that 
Ahab  and  the  Israelites  obtained  a  miraculous  victory 
over  the  Syrians  under  Benhadad,  while  at  Megiddo  the 
pious  Joshua  fell  in  battle  against  the  Egyptian  monarch. 
Then  came  the  times  of  the  Romans  with  battles  under 
Gabinius  and  Vespasian.  The  period  of  the  Crusades 
furnishes  its  account  of  the  contests  in  and  around  the 
plain.     At  Hattin  the  renown  of  the  Crusaders  sank  be- 

*Judyi.s  iv.  2. 


HAIL:    GOD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  85 

fore  the  crescent  of  Saladin.  Almost  in  our  own  day 
the  battle  of  Mount  Tabor  was  one  of  the  triumphs  of 
Napoleon,  while  at  Akka,  near  Carmel,  he  was  baffled 
and  driven  back  from  Syria.* 

These  historic  associations  were  all  in  the  future  as 
that  little  band  of  ill-armed  and  undisciplined  Israelites 
faced  their  powerful,  well-armed,  well-organized,  and 
victorious  enemies  advancing  from  the  heights  across 
the  plain.  They  needed  all  the  inspiration  that  Deborah 
could  give  them  to  urge  them  to  the  attack.  With  un- 
hesitating confidence  she  raised  her  battle  cry,  "Awake, 
Deborah  !f  Arise,  Barak  !  Up  !  for  this  is  the  day  in 
which  the  Lord  hath  delivered  Sisera  into  thy  hand."J 

Down  from  the  wooded  heights  descended  Barak  and 
his  ten  thousand  men.  They  moved  westward  along 
the  plain  which  here  forms  a  large  bay  to  the  south. 
The  great  caravan  route  from  Damascus  to  Egypt  passes, 
and  probably  at  that  time  already  passed  across  it.§ 

When  the  little  army  of  Israelites  saw  the  dense  array 
of  the  enemy  and  their  nine  hundred  chariots  of  war,  a 
terrible  enginery  for  infantry  to  face,  they  and  their  com- 
mander Barak,  says  Josephus,  "  were  so  frightened  that 
they  were  resolved  to  march  off  had  not  Deborah  re- 
tained them,  and  commanded  them  to  fight  the  enemy 
that  very  day,  for  that  they  should  conquer  them,  and 
God  would  be  their  assistance.  So  the  battle  began."|| 
Thus  centuries  before  the  Maid  of  Orleans  this  Hebrew 
Joan  of  Arc  led  armed  men  into  battle. 

What  the  issue  of  the  contest  might  have  been  had  it 
been  left  to  the  unaided  valor  of  the  Hebrews  we  cannot 
say.  Fortunately  that  Divine  Ruler  whom  they  believed 
superior  to  all  kings  and  potentates,  held  in  his  Hand 
the  Reserves  of  War  which  were  to  decide  the  battle. 
As  the  armies  closed,  the  skies  darkened  above  them. 
A  storm  swiftly  swept  from  the  north-east  out  of  the  hills 
of  Hermon  and  Lebanon,  a  fruitful  breeder  of  storms  in 
Palestine,  as  Pike's  Peak  is  in  Colorado.  The  tempest 
rushed  across  the  plain  and  burst  with  fury  in  the  midst 

*  "Robinson's  Researches,"  vol.  II.,  page  366.  f  Judges  v.  12. 
%Id.,\v.  14-  ?  Stanley—"  History  Jewish  Church,"  vol.  I.,  Lecture 
XIV.     ||  Josephus—"  Antiquities,"  book  5,  chapter  5,  section  3. 


86  THE  COS/'/:/,  IN  NATURE. 

of  the  combatants.     Remember,  now,  that  the  army  of 
the  Canaanites  was  marching  eastward  while  the  Israelites 

were  marching  westward.  The  storm,  therefore,  coming 
from  the  ea  t,  broke  upon  the  backs  of  the  Hebrews, 
but  beat  full  in  the  faces  of  their  enemies.  It  was  ac- 
companied  witli  a  vast  downfall  of  rain  and  hail.  It 
darkened  the  eyes  of  the  Canaanitish  soldiers  so  that 
their  anows  and  slings  were  of  no  advantage  to  them. 
It  chilled  their  hands,  so  that  the  soldiers  could  not 
make  use  of  their  swords.*  The  Hebrew  warriors  saw 
in  this  hail-storm  a  direct  interposition  of  Providence 
in  their  behalf.  It  seemed  to  them  the  fulfillment  of 
Deborah's  prophecy.  Their  hearts  were  strengthened, 
their  fears  dispelled,  and  with  fresh  courage  and  vigor 
they  threw  themselves  upon  their  foes.  They  knew  the 
value  as  well  as  the  source  of  these  Reserves  of  War, 
which  from  the  forces  of  nature  had  come  to  their  aid. 

The  waters  of  the  storm  fell  so  copiously,  that  the 
plain  was  soon  beaten  into  mud  beneath  the  hoofs  of  the 
horses  and  wheels  of  the  chariots. 

The  numerous  rivulets  began  to  overflow  their  banks, 
and  added  to  the  inconvenience  of  managing  the  cavalry. 
The  dreaded  and  terrible  engineer}-  upon  which  Sisera 
had  so  strongly  relied,  became  an  element  of  dang 

The  horses,  made  frantic  by  the  hail,  pranced  and 
plunged  as  we  have  seen  these  animals  do  in  our  city 
,t  and  turned  back  upon  their  own  lines.  The 
footmen  were  thrown  into  disorder,  and,  rendered  help- 
less by  the  blinding  storm,  broke  their  ranks.  In  the 
degree  that  their  enemies'  hearts  sank,  the  courage  and 
hope  of  the  Hebrews  rose,  so  that  they  fought  with  in- 
creasing bravery  and  success.  Panic  si  ized  the  Canaan- 
rid  then  the  end  soon  came.     The  dissolved, 

and  a  vast  number  perished.  Their  general  Sisera  dis- 
mounted from  his  chariot  and  lied,  only  to  find  an  i 

minious  death  at  the  hand  of  Jael  the  Kenite.  The 
battle-  was  decisive;  Israel  was  delivered  from  subjection, 
and  began  anew-  her  noble  career  as  an  independent  na- 
tion.    The  victory  was  celebrated  by  the  prophetess  in 

ephus.     |  1  >uring  the  hailstorm  ol  May 


HAIL:    GOD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  87 

those  triumphal  odes  known  as  Deborah's  Song,  whose 
artistic  forms  and  elevated  nature  with  all  its  antique 
simplicity  show  to  what  refined  art  lyric  poetry  aspired, 
and  what  a  delicate  perception  of  beauty  already  breathed 
through  it.*  The  portion  of  Deborah's  Song  descriptive 
of  the  battle,  together  with  the  conclusion,  I  venture  to 
present  in  the  following  version  : — 


VII.  The  Battle  and   Flight. 

19.  There  came  kings  and  fought, 

Then  fought  the  kings  of  Canaan 
At  Taanach,  on  Megiddo's  waters  ; 
Spoils  of  silver  they  took  not ! 

20.  From  Heaven  they  fought ;  the  stars 
From  their  orbits  fought  with  Sisera. 

21.  The  torrents  of  Kishon  swept  them  away, 
That  ancient  river,  the  river  Kishon. 
Trample  down,  O  my  soul,  their  strength  ! 
Then  stamped  the  hoofs  of  the  horses, 
From  the  plungings  of  mighty  ones, 

The  plungings  in  morass  and  flood  ! 


X.  The  Mother's  Watch. 

28.  The  mother  of  Sisera  leaned  through  the  window, 
And  thus  she  lamented  through  the  lattice  : 

"  Why  is  his  chariot  long  in  coming  ? 
Why  do  the  wheels  of  his  chariot  tarry  ? ' ' 

29.  The  wise  ones  among  her  princesses  answer 
Yea,  she  repeats  to  herself  their  answer  . 

30.  "They  are  surely  finding,  dividing  the  prey, 
One  damsel, — two,  for  the  head  of  each  hero  ! 
Prey  of  divers  colors  for  Sisera, 

Prey  of  divers  colors  of  broidery, 

One  of  mixed  colors,  two  of  embroidery, 

For  the  necks  of  damsels  token  as  prey." 

XI.  The  Conclusion. 

31.  So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish, 

O  Lord  Jehovah  ! 
But  them  that  love  Him  be  as  the  sun 
When  he  goeth  forth  in  his  might  ! 


Ewald — "  History  of  Israel,."  II.,  page  354. 


88  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

Does  it  seem  to  you  that  God  does  not  deal  in  this 
way  with  nations  at  the  present  time  ?  Then  you  have 
read  modern  history  neither  wisely  nor  devoutly.  Was 
not  England  saved  by  the  storms  that  scattered  the 
Spanish  Armada?  Go  back  to  the  War  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, and  you  will  find  as  striking  evidences  of  God's  in- 
terposition as  any  that  are  recorded  in  the  history  of 
Israel.  Time  and  again  were  those  Reserves  of  War 
which  God  keeps  within  the  forces  of  nature,  sent  out  to 
strike  in  behalf  of  our  Republic.  Take  one  example. 
On  the  eighth  of  March,  A.  D.  1862,  there  occurred  an 
extraordinary  event  in  Hampton  Roads  near  Norfolk, 
Virginia.  The  Confederates  had  converted  the  United 
States'  frigate  Merrimac  into  an  iron-clad  ram.  Our 
fleet  of  wooden  frigates  lay  in  Hampton  Roads  besieging 
Norfolk.  You  may  remember  still  the  tremor  that  every 
now  and  then  shook  the  hearts  of  Philadelphians,  as  their 
well-grounded  fears  were  awakened  by  the  rumor  that 
some  formidable  sea  monster  was  being  prepared,  which 
would  crush  through  our  wooden  hulls  like  egg-shells, 
and  make  its  way  to  the  cities  of  the  North,  carrying 
destruction  and  levying  tribute.  That  day  seemed  to 
have  dawned  at  last.  The  mail-clad  Merrimac  steamed 
out  from  Norfolk  to  attack  our  blockading  fleet.  She 
dashed  her  iron  prow  into  their  wooden  sides,  while  their 
cannon-balls  rolled  from  her  own  armored  walls  as  if 
the}'  had  been  paper  pellets.  When  evening  had  fallen, 
the  Cumberland  had  gone  down  with  all  on  board;  the 
Congress  had  been  forced  to  surrender;  the  Minnesota 
was  run  aground,  and  apparently  destined  to  fall  an  easy 
prey  on  the  morrow  to  this  monster  of  the  sea.  It  was 
a  black  night  in  the  history  of  our  Republic. 

What  would  the  morrow  bring  ?  Wow  could  the  mor- 
row bring  deliverance  ?  What  power  would  come  to  our 
assistance  to  fray  from  us  the  awful  disaster  that  seemed 
impending?  Humanly  speaking,  the  fate  of  the  nation 
was  in  the  balance,  with  scarce  a  hope  that  the  scales 
would  swing  to  our  favor.  But  during  that  night  a 
strange-looking  object,  resembling  more  a  cheese  box 
upon  a  raft  than  a  vessel  of  war,  appeared  upon  the 
scene.     It  was  the  "  Monitor"  of  Ericsson,  a  small  steam 


HAIL:    COD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  89 

floating  battery,  with  a  revolving  turret  within  which  two 
1  i-inch  guns  were  placed.  Morning  dawned  ;  the  Mer- 
rimac,  confident  of  her  irresistible  power,  and  certain  of 
complete  success,  steamed  out  "to  renew  her  ravages  only 
to  be  brought  to  bay  by  this  new-come  adversary. 
The  two  vessels  fought  for  hours  when  the  Merrimac 
was  compelled  to  fall  back  into  Norfolk,  leaving  the 
little  Monitor  in  possession  of  the  field.*  The  honor  of 
the  navy  was  restored.  The  nation  was  saved.  The 
ports  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  and  all  our  north- 
ern seaboard  were  delivered  from  devastation.  Those  of 
you  whose  memories  can  go  back  to  that  period  will  recol- 
lect that  this  sudden  and  most  timely  appearance  of  the 
Monitor  was  regarded  universally  as  an  Act  of  Provi- 
dence. We  saw  in  it  the  Hand  of  a  good  God  interpos- 
ing in  our  behalf.  We  were  filled  with  the  sentiment 
which  during  that  troubled  period  stamped  upon  our 
coin  the  national  motto  "  In  God  we  trust,"  and  gave  us 
the  "  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic."  True,  men  had 
shown  wisdom  and  skill  in  devising  and  constructing  this 
vessel,  but  what  wisdom  or  skill  could  have  so  timed  the 
appearance  of  the  vessel  ?  At  least  all  devout  hearts 
must  believe  and  feel  that  He  who  guards  the  destinies 
of  nations  and  of  men,  who  holds  in  His  hands  those 
unseen  reserves  of  war  by  whose  sudden  coming  upon 
scenes  of  human  conflict  destinies  are  so  often  settled; 
that  He  had  held  the  winds  and  the  waves  in  the  hollow 
of  His  Hand,  and  had  so  timed  all  the  exigencies  and  in- 
cidents surrounding  the  Monitor  that  it  was  permitted 
to  steam  silently,  in  the  very  nick  of  time,  to  the  duty 
and  service  which  saved  the  Republic. 

No  wonder  the  soldiers  of  that  great  conflict  could 
sing:  "  Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  !  " 

I  have  seen  Him  in  the  watch-fires  of  a  hundred  circling  camps  ; 
They  have  builded  Him  an  altar  in  the  evening  dews  and  damps 
I  can  read  His  righteous  sentence  by  the  dim  and  flaring  lamps  : 
His  day  is  marching  on  !  f 

2.  As  it  is  with  nations  so  it  is  with  individuals.  The 
Bible  everywhere   teaches   that   God   carries   the    same 

*  See  "The  Century,"  March,  1885.     f  Julia  Ward  Howe. 


90  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

methods  into  the  spheres  of  individual  life  that  are  dis- 
played in  the  broader  fields  of  national  destiny.     Indeed 

it  could  not  be  otherwise.  Society  is  made  up  of  indi- 
viduals, and  the  aggregate  can  only  be  regulated  by 
regulating  the  units.  To  say,  therefore,  that  God  over- 
rules the  destinies  of  nations  is  but  to  say  in  another 
form  that  he  overrules  the  destinies  of  men.  "The 
greatest  rivers,"  says  a  Chinese  proverb,  "arc  cradled 
in  the  leaves  of  the  pine."  In  a  measure  that  is  true. 
The  vast  forests  of  coniferous  trees  which  cover  the 
sides  of  mountains  and  send  up  their  myriads  of  deli- 
cate, needle-like  leaves  toward  the  sky,  present  so  many 
attracting  points  to  the  over-passing  clouds,  and  help  to 
drawdown  to  themselves  and  the  earth  that  moisture 
which  feeds  the  sources  of  rivers.  So  the  mighty 
streams  of  national  destiny  have  their  rise  in  individual 
life  and  action.  He  who  thinks  of  great  events  must 
not  separate  his  thoughts  from  the  little  things  that 
encompass  and  control  their  origin.  You  know  how 
beautifully  our  Divine  Lord  taught  this  truth:  "  Behold 
the  fowls  of  the  air,  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they 
nap,  nor  gather  into  barns;  yet  your  Heavenly  Father 
feedeth  them.     Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they?"* 

Every  man  is  permitted  to  think  of  himself  as  the 
direct  object  of  Divine  care.  I  spoke  in  my  last 
lecture  of  that  celestial  sphere,  as  astronomers  have 
called  it,  which  appears  to  surround  the  earth.  The 
direction  or  apparent  positions  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
as  well  as  their  apparenl  motions,  have  always  been  de- 
fined by  their  situation  and  motion  on  this  sphere.  "  It 
matters  not,"  says  an  American  astronomer,  "how  large 
we  suppose  this  sphere,  so  long  as  we  always  suppose 
the  observer  to  be  in  the  centre  of  it,  so  that  it  -hall 
surround  him  on  all  sides  at  an  equal  distance.  Hut  in 
the  language  and  reasoning  ^\  exact  astronomy,  it  is 
always  supposed  to  be  infinite,  as  then  an  observer  may 
conceive  >■(  himself  as  transported  to  another  point, 
even  one  of  the  heavenly  bodies  themselves,  and  -till  be 
for  all  practical  purposes  in  the  centre  <  f  this  sphi 


» Matthew vi.  26.  tNEWcoMB    "Populi  iray," chapter L 


HAIL:    GOD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  9 1 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  this  conception  of  an  all-en- 
compassing celestial  sphere  which  every  individual  must 
make  for  the  practical  uses  of  astronomy,  is  one  which 
is  just  as  necessary  to  make  for  the  practical  uses  of  our 
spiritual  life.  Every  living  soul  may  dare  to  conceive 
himself  as  a  central  point  of  celestial  thought  and  care, 
towards  whom,  in  all  the  exigencies  of  life,  shall  centre 
and  focus  whatever  agencies  of  help  God  may  think 
needful.  God  is  not  unmindful  of  the  struggles  which 
human  hearts  have  to  endure  in  this  life.  "  He  knoweth 
our  frame  ;  he  remembereth  that  we  are  dust."*  He 
knows  the  enemies  against  whom  we  contend,  so  nu- 
merous, so  insatiable,  so  much  more  powerful  than  our- 
selves. He  knows  the  secret  foes  who  too  often  hold 
possession  of  the  fortress  of  the  heart,  and  stand  ready 
to  betray  us  to  God's  enemies  and  our  own.  Be  sure, 
then,  that  in  the  crisis  of  spiritual  conflicts,  in  the  hour  of 
greatest  temporal  need,  our  heavenly  Commander,  from 
his  high  vantage  point  of  observation  viewing  all  the 
field,  will  send  forth  his  Reserves  of  grace  to  strengthen 
us  and  preserve  us.  We  must  not  let  go  faith  in  this 
great  truth.  God  rules.  He  rules  for  its.  We  may  trust 
Him  implicitly.  We  may  venture  into  the  conflict,  not 
rashly,  not  self-confidently,  not  presumptuously,  but  as- 
sured that  if  our  strength  should  fail  there  are  reserves  in 
heaven,  hosts  of  God,  agencies  at  his  command  that  shall 
be  bidden  forth  to  our  rescue. 

This  is  a  very  comforting  truth.  The  soldier  who 
goes  into  battle  has  always  more  confidence  because  he 
remembers  that  behind  him  wait  the  reserves,  often  the 
very  flower  of  the  army.  If  there  shall  be  need,  they 
will  dash  forward  at  the  commander's  order  to  strike 
here  and  there,  to  strengthen  a  wavering  line,  or  charge 
with  fresh  energy  when  the  enemy's  line  has  been 
broken,  and  thus  make  assurance  doubly  sure.  Should 
not  the  Christian  soldier  in  like  manner  be  confident  as 
he  goes  forth  to  the  conflict ;  more  cheerful,  more  coura- 
geous, more  hopeful  of  success,  because  he  knows  well 
that  God's  Reserves  of  War  are  waiting  to  serve  him  in 
any  hour  of  need  ? 

*  Psalm  ciii.  14. 


92  THE  G(  '.v/'/.v.  IN  X- 1  Tl  JRE. 

II.  Our  next  lesson  from  the  hail  is  one  of  Divine 
Judgment  upon  the  Ungodly. 

I  hot  only  rules,  but  he  rules  in  righteousness. 
The  prophet  Isaiah*  expresses  the  judgment  of  the  Lord 
upon  the  Assyrians  under  the  figures  of  the  lighting 
down  of  his  arm,  with  indignation  of  his  anger  and 
tempest  and  hailstones.  In  the  book  of  Revelation! 
the  opening  of  the  seals  and  the  pouring  forth  of  the 
vials  upon  the  nations  is  associated  with  hail:  "And 
there  fell  upon  nun  a  great  hail  out  of  heaven,  even- 
stone  about  the  weight  of  a  talent."  As  the  weight  of 
a  talent  is  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  troy,  the 
figure  becomes  a  very  strong  expression  of  the  judg- 
ment of  destruction  which  it  conveyed.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary perhaps  to  explain  it  literally,  and  yet  we  have 
records  |  of  hailstones  ranging  in  size  from  a  half-brick 
to  that  of  a  sheep  and  even  of  an  elephant.  The  simple 
point  with  us,  however,  is  to  grasp  the  lesson  which 
God  would  teach  through  this  imager}-. 

Justice  is  one  of  the  attributes  of  the  Divine  nature. 
It  is  impossible  for  us  to  conceive  of  that  nature  as  a 
perfect  one  without  enthroning  justice  within  it.  There 
is  no  quality  of  the  human  heart  that  is  more  admirable 
than  justice.  "A  just  man"  is  a  tribute  of  highest 
praise.  No  higher  encomium  can  be  passed  upon  an 
executive  and  judicial  officer  than  "He  is  a  just  nil 

is  a  just  judge."  There  i>  no  virtue  whose  practice 
would  be  more  likely  to  bring  harmony  out  of  the  dis- 
cords of  society  than  justice.  Long  ago  the  inspil 
writer  gave  the  best  solution  of  the  actual  or  imaginary 
"conflict"  between  Labor  and  Capital.  "Masters,  ren- 
der unto  your  servants  that  which  is  just  and  equality." 
"Servants,  obey  not  with  eye  service,  but  with  single- 

of  heart,'  fearing    God."  §      For   "masters"    read 
"employers,"  and  for  "servants"  read  "employees,"  and 
you  have  at  once  a  principle  that  will   cause  th 
m.  nt  -  to  combine.     Unjust  wools  hastily  spoken,  unju  ;1 
thought!    entertained   within   the   heart,   unjust  actions 


*Chapt<  •  ter  via.  7.  and  xvi.  21.     J  Chambers' 

lopaedia,  art.  Hax '.       I     los     iii    -   .  and  iv.  1. 


HAIL:    GOD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  93 

towards  individuals  or  parties — these  are  the  seeds 
whose  sowing  surely  will  result  in  a  harvest  of  discord 
and  regrets.  Justice  is  expediency.  Justice  is  harmony. 
Nay,  justice  is  benevolence. 

It  would  be  impossible  on  earth  to  administer  govern- 
ment without  the  quality  of  justice.  It  is  equally  im- 
possible for  Heaven  to  rule  without  the  same  quality. 
But  justice  implies  judgment  upon  the  offender;  and  as 
long  as  there  are  men  who  dishonor  every  noble  quality 
of  manhood — who  offend  God,  trample  virtue  under 
foot,  disregard  law,  mercy,  righteousness,  and  truth — 
just  so  long  must  Heaven  be  armed  with  the  sword  to 
administer  fitting  penalty  and  preserve  in  the  midst  of 
the  world  the  sovereignty  of  Divine  Law. 

A  duty  devolves  upon  all  public  teachers,  indeed  on 
every  man  and  woman  in  society,  to  keep  alive  in 
human  hearts  a  sense  of  indignation  against  moral  evil. 
Selfishness,  impurity,  falsehood  are  very  strongly  in- 
trenched within  human  nature,  and  may  easily  get  the 
mastery  of  men  unless  they  be  kept  under  subjection  by 
the  force  of  a  well-disciplined  conscience  and  right  pub- 
lic sentiment.  Justice  is  often  represented  as  blind. 
Certainly,  at  least,  she  often  has  her  eyes  closed,  and  he 
who  keeps  his  eyes  long  closed  will  surely  fall  asleep. 
When  justice  sleeps  the  community  is  in  peril.  She 
needs  to  be  awakened,  even  by  the  loud  cries  of  a  right- 
eous indignation.  Those  cries  are  often  heard.  Alas ! 
too  frequently  there  occur  outbreakings  of  human  de- 
pravity of  such  especial  heinousness  that  the  whole 
community — the  whole  world,  at  times — is  shocked,  and 
instinctively  men  cry  out  for  justice  upon  the  offenders. 
I  believe  that  that  voice,  which  never  is  wholly  silenced 
from  the  human  breast,  is  an  utterance  from  that  Divine 
Image  and  Likeness  enstamped  upon  man  in  his  origin. 
Justice  is  Divine!  and  the  execution  of  judgment  upon 
the  sinner  must  surely  be  regarded  as  in  the  line  of 
righteous  and  necessary  action.  Shall  we  suppose  an 
example  ? 

There  is  a  young  woman  whose  fair,  sweet  face  bears 
in  every  feature  the  stamp  of  virtue.  That  maiden's 
guileless  heart  has  never  cherished  a  thought  of  sin  or 


94 


Till:  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 


suspicion  of  impurity  for  herself  or  for  any  fellow- 
creature.  But  see  !  she  is  met  face  to  face  by  a  man 
— by  one  who  bears  at  least  the  form  of  man.  In 
his  impure  heart  he  has  marked  that  maiden  as  his  vic- 
tim. He  is  the  master  of  all  the  arts  by  which  unsus- 
picious women  are  persuaded  to  trust  with  unwavering 
confidence  those  in  whom  their  hearts  become  enlisted. 
Day  by  clay,  week  by  week  with  stealthy  approach,  with 
unrelenting  purpose  he  plies  his  awful  art  until  at  last  his 
purpose  is  on  the  verge  of  its  dreadful  accomplishment. 
I  have  seen  a  large  beautiful  cat  creeping  through  a  mass 
of  bright  green  grass  bedecked  with  lovely  flowers, 
moving  with  the  noiseless  gliding  stride  characteristic  of 
the  feline  species,  its  great  green  eyes  fixed  yonder  upon 
some  object  that  I  could  not  quite  discern  among  the 
low-hanging  boughs  of  a  tree.  On,  across  the  beds  of 
flowers;'  on,  across  the  lovely  lawn,  until  at  last  the 
creature  pauses.  It  raises  its  head,  curves  its  back,  sinks 
upon  its  haunches,  crouching  to  spring  upon  what  I 
now  see  is  a  fledgling  bird  innocently  twittering  and  dis- 
porting upon  that  hanging  -branch.  The  cat  is  doing 
nothing  foreign  to  its  nature,  only  indeed  that  which 
nature  taught  it.  Yet  every  impulse  of  your  being,  were 
you  a  witness  of  such  a  scene,  would  prompt  you  to  rush 
forward  as  I  do  with  a  cry  of  alarm  to  fray  away  the 
skulking  beast,  and  save  the  little  birdling  from  it- 
threatened  doom.  Yes,  you  are  angry  at  poor  Puss. 
You  strike  her  with  indignant  outthrust  of  your  foot 

A!i!  but  this  creaturewho  bears  the  form  of  man, this 
beast  in  manhood's  fleshly  livery,  who  has  deliberately 
plotted  and  waits  upon  the  execution  of  his  lustful  pur- 
pose— what  vial  of  wrath  so  full,  so  fierce  that  your 
hand  would  not  pour  out  upon  him?  But  let  us  sup- 
pose, further,  that  this  stealthy  beast  of  preymeets  no 
interposing  hand  to  drive  him  from  his  victim;  that  this 
unsuspicious  maiden  hears  no  voice  raised  to  warn  her  of 
her  danger,  and  bid  her  flee.  The  deed  is  done.  That 
fur  life  is  blasted.  Th.it  soul  is  sullied  with  an  impurity 
that  never  here,  and  mayhap  never  hereafter,  shall  be 
washed  away.  1  [uman  justice  is  foiled  in  the  pursuit  and 
punishment  of  her  seducer.      Nay,  on  the  contrary,  he  en- 


HAIL:   GOD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  95 

joys  wealth,  honor,  and  public  station.  What  then?  Is 
justice  indeed  blind  ?  Is  justice  asleep?  Is  justice  dead? 
Is  there  ;/#  justice  that  can  overtake  a  wretch  like  that  and 
visit  him  with  the  penalty  which  such  crime  demands  ? 

Yes,  my  friends,  God  has  his  reserves  of  war!  Let 
wicked  men  tremble  as  they  remember  that  God  is  Just, 
and  turn  from  the  purposes  of  evil  upon  which  their 
hearts  are  fixed.  I  know  that  on  earth  justice  seems  to 
tarry  long,  and  hearts  grow  weary  in  their  cry  to  the 
Almighty  to  make  bare  his  Arm  and  interpose  for  the 
protection  and  defense  of  truth  and  innocence.  But  if 
not  here,  then  hereafter  Justice  shall  be  vindicated. 
There  is  nothing  that  seems  to  me  to  present  a  stronger 
argument  for  a  future  being,  for  an  immortal  life  in 
which  the  inequalities  of  this  world  shall  be  rendered 
even  by  the  All-just  Rector  of  the  world,  than  the  fact 
that  so  much,  injustice  does  prevail  in  this  life,  so  many 
wrongs  go  unrighted,  and  so  many  sins  unpunished. 
Surely,  since  justice  is  an  attribute  infinite,  eternal,  and 
unchangeable  of  the  Almighty  God,  somewhere — Some- 
where He  has  appointed  a  Judgment  Seat  at  whose  bar 
the  unpunished  criminal  shall  be  judged. 

Anne  of  Austria,  the  Queen  of  France,  had  in  the 
great  Prime  Minister  Richelieu  a  relentless  enemy.  On 
one  occasion,  it  is  said,  the  queen  thus  addressed  the 
minister :  "  My  Lord  Cardinal,  there  is  one  fact  which  you 
seem  to  have  entirely  forgotten.  God  is  a  sure  paymaster. 
He  may  not  pay  at  the  end  of  every  week,  or  month,  or 
year,  but  I  charge  you  remember  that  he  pays  in  the 
end."    Yes,  though  long  delayed,  justice  shall  fall  at  last. 

A  sentiment  not  unlike  this  was  uttered  by  the  editor 
of  a  weekly  newspaper  in  a  section  of  Illinois  near 
which  I  began  my  ministry.  An  infidel  farmer  in  the 
neighborhood  sent  to  the  editor  a  letter  of  this  substance  : 
"  Sir  : — I  have  been  trying  an  experiment.  I  have  a  field 
of  Indian  corn,  which  I  plowed  on  Sunday.  I  planted 
it  on  Sunday.  I  did  all  the  cultivating  which  it  received 
on  Sunday.  I  gathered  the  crop  on  Sunday,  and  on 
Sunday  hauled  it  to  my  barn;  and  I  find  that  I  have 
more  corn  to  the  acre  than  has  been  gathered  by  any  of 
my  neighbors  during  this  October."     The  editor  was  not 


96  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

a  religious  man  ;  was  rather  a  rough  sort  of  personage, 
such  as  one  often  meets  with  in  new  countries.  His 
general  character,  indeed,  had  given  the  infidel  farmer 
the  impression  that  he  might  perhaps  be  in  sympathy 
with  his  scepticism.  In  fact,  the  editor  did  publish  the 
letter,  word  for  word  as  it  had  been  written,  but  under- 
neath it  he  placed  two  index  marks,  one  at  the  beginning 
and  one  at  the  end  of  a  short  line.  That  line  was  print- 
ed  in  bold-faced  capital  types,   and  read  thus:    "God 

DOES  NOT  ALWAYS  SETTLE  HIS  ACCOUNTS  IN  OCTOBER." 

Though  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly,  yet  they  grind  exceeding 

small  ; 
Though'  with  patience  lie  stands  waiting,  with  exactness  grinds 

He  all.* 

III.  A  third  lesson  from  the  Scriptural  use  of  hail  is 
that  there  is  no  Safety  for  human  souls  except  beneath 
the  Saving  Rule  of  God. 

One  great  purpose  of  Divine  judgments  is  undoubt- 
edly to  awaken  the  human  conscience  and  turn  man 
from  sin  unto  God.  "  I  smote  you  with  hail,"  said  the 
Lord  unto  his  people,  "  and  ye  turned  not  to  me."f 
Evidently  the  purpose  of  God  in  this  judgment  of  hail 
was  to  turn  his  people  to  him,  although  they  refused 
to  learn  from  the  discipline  of  his  hand.  The  Plague 
of  Hail  was*  one  of  those  sent  upon  Pharoah  and  his 
kingdom  to  compel  the  Egyptians  to  listen  to  the  voice 
of  God  and  let  his  oppressed  people  go  forth  into  freedom. 
Moses  full\- warned  the  Egyptian  monarch  of  the  coming 
judgment  and  bade  him  and  his  people  provide  against 
it.  Some  of  the  subjects  of  Pharaoh,  we  are  told,  were 
wise  enough  to  make  their  servants  and  cattle  flee  into 
I  s,  and  thus  escaped.      But   "  lie  that  regarded  not 

the  word  of  the  Lord  left  his  servants  and  his  cattle  in 
the  lields,"|  and  the  hail  smote  them  both  man  and 
beast.  The  safety  of  these  people  lay  in  their  obedience 
of  the  will  of  God.  "Only  in  the  land  of  Goshen  where 
the  children  of  Israel  were  was  there  no  hail."§ 

II..:.   thoroughly  this  illustrates  that  blessed  Refuge 

*  Longfellow.  fHaggai  ii  17.  fExodus  ix.  20-21.  \  Id. 
verse  26. 


HAIL:    GOD'S  RESERVES  OF  WAR.  97 

to  Whom  we  all  may  flee,  and  in  Whom,  we  are  assured 
by  God's  own  word,  we  shall  be  safe  from  Divine  judg- 
ment. Christ  Jesus  is  the  Refuge  of  souls.  He  who  by 
faith  commits  himself  to  the  sovereign  care  of  the  Re- 
deemer, he  who  lives  in  humble  following  of  this  Saviour 
a  life  of  loving  obedience  and  holiness,  whatever  storms 
shall  beat  upon  the  wicked  in  the  day  of  judgment — he 

shall  be  safe. 

"Safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus, 
Safe  on  his  gentle  breast." 

Is  there  no  other  refuge  ?  I  know  of  none.  Can 
the  soul  be  safe  from  Divine  judgment  outside  of  Jesus 
Christ  ?  I  know  no  other  way  of  safety.  "  I  am  the 
way,"  said.  Jesus.  "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any. 
other."*  All  other  refuges  are  compared  by  the  prophet 
Ezekielf  to  a  wall  daubed  with  untempered  mortar 
against  which  "  there  shall  be  an  overflowing  shower, 
and  ye,  oh  great  hailstones  shall  fall,  and  the  stormy 
winds  shall  rend  it.  And  it  shall  fall  and  ye  shall  be 
consumed  in  the  midst  thereof."  The  prophets  who 
invite  weary  and  sinful  souls  to  take  refuge  behind  such 
an  untempered  wall  as  this  are  denounced  by  the 
Almighty  as  those  who  "  have  seduced  my  people,  say- 
ing, peace,  peace,  and  there  is  no  peace."  Our  blessed 
Saviour  himself  compared  trust  in  all  other  hopes  and 
faiths  to  the  action  of  one  who  laid  a  foundation  to 
build  a  house  upon  the  sands,  against  which  the  waves 
and  winds  and  rains  beat,  and  it  fell,  and  great  was  the 
fall  thereof.  J  Once  more,  Jehovah,  through  the  lips  of 
Isaiah,  declares  that  those  who  put  their  trust  in  other 
than  Himself  "  have  made  lies  their  refuge  and  have 
hid  themselves  under  falsehood."  "  Therefore,  thus  saith 
the  Lord  God,  behold  I  have  laid  in  Zion  for  a  founda- 
tion stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  corner-stone  of  sure 
foundation.  He  that  believeth  shall  not  make  haste. 
And  I  will  make  judgment  the  line,  and  righteousness 
the  plummet,  and  the  hail  shall  sweep  away  the  refuge 
of  lies."  §     Thus  God  sets  before  the  souls  of  men  the 

*  Acts  iv.  12.     f  Ch.  xiii.  10-12.     J  Matt.  vii.  27.     \  Isaiah  xxviii. 
16-17. 


98  THE  Gt  )SPEL  IN  X.  1 77  TRE. 

folly  of  seeking  refuge  from  the  storms  of  judgment 
in  fragile  hopes,  vain  delusions,  and  presumptuous  self- 
confidence,  and  in  the  same  breath  sets  before  them 
the  one  sure  Foundation  of  human  trust.  To  that 
Foundation  I  invite  you  to-day.  Flee  !  Flee,  O  sinner, 
from  the  impending  wrath  of  God,  and  build  all  your 
hopes  for  eternity  upon  Him  who  is  the  Chief  Stone  of 
the  Corner.  Who  is  He  ?  He  is  the  Christ !  The 
Messiah  of  God,  who  shall  help  you  in  the  fight  against 
sin,  will  bruise  for  you  the  Dragon's  head,  and  swallow 
up  Death  in  Victory. 

I  have  read  a  fiery  gospel  writ  in  burnish'd  rows  of  steel  : 
"As  ye  deal  with  my  contemners,  so  with  you  my  grace  shall  deal ;" 
"Let  the  Hero,  born  of  woman,  crush  the  serpent  with  his  heel, 
Since  God  is  marching  on. 

He  has  sounded  forth  the  trumpet  that  shall  never  call  retreat ; 
He  is  sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men  before  his  judgment-seat  : 
Oh,  be  swift,  my  soul,  to  answer  him  !  be  jubilant,  my  feet ! 
Our  God  is  marching  on.* 


*  Mrs.  lluwe's  "  liattlc  Hymn  of  the  Republic." 


LECTURE  VI. 


Snow  Crystals: 
God  as  Geometer. 

11  Hast  thou  entered  into  the  treasuries  of  the  snow  ?" 
— Job  xxxviii.  22. 


SNOW  CRYSTALS :  GOD  AS  GEOMETER. 


The  molecules  and  atoms  of  all  substances  when 
allowed  free  play  have  a  tendency  to  definite  forms 
called  crystals,  which  for  the  most  part  are  very  beautiful. 
The  familiar  confection  known  as  rock  candy  is  simply  a 
mass  of  crystals  of  sugar  which  have  been  produced  by 
dissolving  the  sugar  in  water  and  permitting  the  water 
to  evaporate.  Crystals  of  alum  may  be  produced  in 
the  same  way,  and  are  familiar  objects  in  druggists' 
windows.  Water,  indeed,  is  almost  a  universal  solvent, 
and  there  are  but  few  substances  that  are  not  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree  dissolved  by  it.  The  magnificent 
crystals  which  we  frequently  find  in  the  rocks  are 
formed  in  almost  every  case  by  a  deposition  of  mineral 
substance  from  a  state  of  solution  in  water.  Many  of 
the  large  crystals  in  cabinets  of  minerals  have  been 
unquestionably  thousands  of  years  in  formation.*  Thus 
the  solvent  power  of  water  studs  the  cavities  of 
rocks  with  crystal  gems.  Flints,  dissolved  as  they 
sometimes  are  in  nature  and  permitted  to  crystallize, 
yield  prisms  and  pyramids  of  rock  crystal.  Chalk  dis- 
solved and  crystallized  yields  Iceland  spar,  and  diamonds 
are  crystallized  carbon.  All  our  precious  stones,  ruby, 
sapphire,  beryl,  topaz,  and  emerald  are  examples  of  this 
crystallizing  power. 

Snow  is  simply  the  vapor  of  water  in  a  crystallized 
form.  Indeed,  the  term  "  crystal  "  found  in  most  of  the 
European  languages  is  derived  from  the  Greek  xpuox allot; 
{kntstallos),  meaning  ice  or  frozen  water,  and  was  subse- 
quently transferred  to  pure  transparent  stones  cut  into 
seals,  which,  as  was  thought,  were  produced  only  in  the 
extreme  cold  of  lofty  passes  of  the  Alps.  The  atmos- 
phere is  charged  with  watery  vapor  to  an  immense  ex- 
tent, and  when    the   temperature   is  sufficiently  low  to 

*  Cooke—  "  Religion  and  Cheriiistry,"  page  156. 

(101) 


102  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

freeze  this  moisture,  snow  is  formed.  When  produced 
in  calm  air  the  icy  particles  build  themselves  into  beau- 
tiful stellar  shapes,  each  star  possessing  six  rays.  More 
fully  described,  snow  crystals  are  six-pointed  stars  or 
hexagonal  plates,  which  exhibit  the  greatest  variety  of 
beautiful  forms,  one  thousand  different  kinds  having 
been  observed.  These  numerous  forms  Scoresby  re- 
duced to  five  principal  varieties  :  (i.)  Thin  plates,  com- 
prising several  hundred  forms  of  the  most  exquisite 
beauty;  (2.)  A  nucleus  of  plane  figure,  studded  with 
needle-shaped  crystals  ;  (3.)  Six-sided,  more  rarely  three- 
sided,  crystals  ;  (4.)  Pyramids  of  six  sides;  (5.)  Prismatic 
crystals,  having  at  the  ends  and  middle  thin  plates  per- 
pendicular to  their  length.  The  flakes  vary  from  seven- 
hundredths  of  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter,  the  smallest 
occurring  with  low  temperatures  and  the  largest  when 
the  temperature  approaches  thirty-two  degrees.  If  the 
temperature  is  a  little  higher,  the  snow-flakes  are  par- 
tially thawed  in  passing  through  it,  and  fall  as  sleet. 

One  who  chooses  to  experiment  for  himself  may  catch 
the  falling  flakes  upon  a  cold,  hand  mirror,  slate,  or  a  bit 
of  window  glass.  With  an  ordinary  magnifying  lens  he 
can  then  observe  the  crystal  forms  of  the  flakes,  which 
will  commonly  have  a  similar  structure  in  any  one  snow- 
fall. Thus  examined  the  water  crystals  of  snow  will 
awaken  the  utmost  admiration  for  their  beauty.  How 
beautiful  they  are  may  be  seen  by  examining  the  figures 
of  them  made  by  Messrs.  Scoresby  and  Glaisher,  for  the 
most  part,  as  they  are  reproduced  in  various  cyclopaedias, 
commentaries,  and  works  on  meteorology.*  These  forms 
have  been  frequently  used  for  decorative  purposes,  being 
wrought  into  the  figures  on  wall  paper,  prints,  laces,  and 
other  objects  of  domestic  use. 

It  is  not,  however,  from  the  beauty  of  snow-crystals 
that  we  are  to  derive  the  lesson  of  this  lecture,  but  from 
the  geometrical  form  of  their  structure,  which  I  shall 
take  as  a  type  of  that  order  which  is  everywhere  mani- 
fest in  the  material  world.     To  this  typical  character  of 

*See  Barnes'  "  Commentary  on  Job  ; "  Tyndall's  "Forms  of 
Water;"  and  Chambers'  Encyclopaedia,  art.  Snow;  also,  the 
drawings  in  No.  I,  of  "The  Swiss  Cross." 


SNOW  CRYSTALS:  GOD  AS  GEOMETER.       1 03 

snow-flakes  Whittier  alludes  in  the  description  of  a  snow- 
storm with  which  he  begins  his  poem,  "  Snow-Bound. " 

"  In  tiny  spherule  traced  with  lines 
Of  Nature's  geometric  signs, 
In  starry  flake,  and  pellicle, 
All  day  the  hoary  meteor  fell." 

I.  The  first  and  chief  lesson  which  we  are  to  draw  out 
of  the  Treasury  or  Storehouse  of  the  snow  is  the  Active 
Presence  in  nature  of  a  Divine  Orderly  Mind. 

The  text  is  a  part  of  that  remarkable  poetic  passage 
in  the  book  of  Job*  in  which  Jehovah  responds  to  the 
patriarch's  plea,  "May  the  Almighty  answer  me!"f 
He  surprises  him  with  questions  which  are  intended  to 
bring  him  indirectly  to  consciousness  of  the  wrong  and 
absurdity  of  his  challenge.  In  language,  not  of  wrath, 
but  of  loving  condescension,  and  yet  earnest  reproof, 
he  makes  the  Titan  puny  in  his  own  eyes,  in  order  to 
exalt  him  who  is  outwardly  and  inwardly  humbled.! 
Over  against  the  Infinite  Power  and  Wisdom  of  the 
Divine  working  in  nature  God  sets  the  insignificance  of 
Job's  human  weakness.  Thus,  as  the  vision  of  the  Al- 
mightiness  rounds  out  larger  before  the  defiant  patri- 
arch's soul,  he  gets  new  glimpses  and  true  views  of  his 
own  littleness.  Let  us  read  in  the  connection  of  our 
text  a  few  of  these  questions  which  Jehovah  put  to  Job 
out  of  the  storm  : — 


VI. 

22  Hast  thou  reached  to  the  storehouse  of  the  snow  ? 
Or  hast  thou  seen  the  treasures  of  the  hail, 

23  Which  for  the  time  of  trouble  I  reserve, 
Against  the  day  of  battle  and  of  war  ? 

24  Along  what  track  is  light  distributed  ? 

How  spreads  the  east  wind  o'er  the  face  of  earth? 

25  Who  cleaves  a  channel  for  the  flood  of  rain, 
And  marks  a  pathway  for  the  thunder-flash, 

26  So  that  upon  the  land  where  no  man  dwells, 
The  desert  tenantless,  the  rain  descends, 

27  To  satisfy  the  waste  and  wilderness, 

And  cause  the  tender  shoot  of  grass  to  spring  ? 

*Job  xxxviii.   22,   sqq.      f  Id:,  chap.  xxxi.  35.      %  Delitzsch — 
Commentary,"  inloc. 


104  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

VII. 

28  Is  there  a  father  to  the  rain  ?     And  who 
Begetteth  to  the  morn  the  drops  of  dew? 

29  Out  of  whose  womb  hath  issued  forth  the  ice  ? 
And  who  hath  borne  the  hoar-frost  of  heaven, 

30  So  that  the  waters  harden  like  the  stone, 
The  surface  of  the  deep  together  cleaves? 

It  is  still  true,  as  in  the  days  of  Humboldt,  that  among 
these  questions  "  there  are  many  which  the  natural  phi- 
losophy of  the  present  day  can  frame  more  scientifically 
but  cannot  satisfactorily  solve."*  The  question  concern- 
ing the  storehouse  of  the  snow,  and  the  formation  of 
crystal  within  it,  is  one  of  these.  Crystals  maybe  seen, 
as  in  the  time  of  Leeuwenhock,  springing  out  of  solu- 
tions under  the  microscope  and  continuing  to  increase 
in  size,  but  the  powers  that  are  active  escape  our  notice, 
and  we  are  still  left  almost  in  the  same  region  of  specu- 
lation as  our  predecessors.  We  can  at  this  moment 
form  no  adequate  idea  of  the  complex  and  beautiful  or- 
ganization of  these  apparently  simple  bodies.| 

The  physical  properties  of  crystals  indicate  a  close 
dependence  on  their  geometric  character.  The  same 
systems  shown  by  their  mathematical  forms  and  optic 
properties  reappear  in  reference  to  their  relations  to  heat, 
magnetism,  electricity,  and  other  properties. %  Let  us 
pursue  this  fact  a  little  further.  We  must  not  weary  of 
the  details;  the  conclusion  I  trust  will  repay  us  for  any 
tediousness  in  the  process  by  which  it  is  reached.  We 
have  seen  that  when  water  containing  saline  matter  in 
solution  is  allowed  to  evaporate  slowly,  the  salt  it  con- 
tains is  thrown  down  in  bodies  of  peculiar  forms,  bound- 
ed by  smooth,  evejn  surfaces  meeting  in  straight  lines. 
We  have  learned  that  fused  metals  consolidating  in  cer- 
tain favorable  conditions  appear  as  similar  bodies  ;  and 
that  in  nature,  also,  in  cracks  or  fissures  of  the  rocks,  or 
imbedded  in  their  mass,  minerals  resembling  these  in 
form  are  frequently  found.  These  regul.tr  polyhedric  or 
many-sided  bodies,  whether  natural  or  artificial,  we  know, 

*Von  Humboldt— "Cosmos,"  II..  page  -is-  1  Crystallography, 
Ency.  Brit,  vol.  VI.,  page 675.    X  /./..  page  677. 


SNOW  CRYSTALS:  GOD  AS  GEOMETER.        105 

are  called  crystals,  and  the  science  naming  and  describ- 
ing the  forms  they  assume,  and  pointing  out  the  relations 
that  exist  among  them,  is  termed  crystallography.  Now, 
let  us  emphasize  the  fact  that  in  a  theoretical  point  of 
view  this  science  may  be  regarded  as  a  branch  of  Mathe- 
matics, and  might  be  studied  independent  altogether  of 
the  fact  of  any  material  bodies  existing  in  the  forms  de- 
scribed. 

It  is  easy  for  the  least  scientific  observer  to  determine 
for  himself  that  the  entire  structure  of  crystals  is  based 
upon  mathematical  laws  and  relations.  Visit  the  exten- 
sive collection  of  minerals  in  the  museum  of  the  Acade- 
my of  Natural  Sciences,  or  in  the  Vaux  Collection  under 
the  same  roof,  or  any  one  of  the  valuable  private  collec- 
tions possessed  by  gentlemen  in  our  city.  The  visit, 
besides  affording  you  a  day  of  exquisite  enjoyment  in 
the  contemplation  of  some  of  nature's  most  lovely  forms, 
will  give  you  new  ideas  of  the  vast  variety  and  infinite 
wealth  of  taste  manifest  in  the  works  of  the  Creator. 
You  will  see  at  a  glance  that  all  these  crystal  forms  are 
geometric.  Angles,  edges,  and  faces  will  remind  you  of 
those  forms  which,  if  you  have  ever  studied  geometry  at 
all,  continually  figured  upon  the  pages  of  your  Euclid, 
and  which  to-day  are  familiar  in  the  Kindergartens  of 
our  young  children. 

Converse  for  a  little  while  with  the  mineralogists  who 
own  or  have  studied  these  specimens  ;  or,  open  such  a 
well-known  book  as  Professor  Dana's  "Mineralogy," and 
you  will  find  yourself  at  once  overwhelmed  with  geo- 
metric terms,  which,  even  should  you  not  happen  to 
comprehend  them,  will  at  least  give  you  the  undoubted 
impression  that  you  are  greeted  with  the  terms  and  facts 
of  a  mathematical  science.  You  will  hear,  perhaps,  of 
the  nucleus  of  a  crystal,  and  learn  that  in  fiuor  spar  the 
nucleus  is  an  octahedron;  in  heavy  spar,  a  right  prism 
with  rhombic  base ;  in  galena  or  sulphate  of  lead,  a  cube, 
and  so  of  other  substances.  You  will  hear,  perhaps,  of 
Haiiy's  theory  of  the  structure  of  crystals  ;  of  six  prim- 
itive forms — the  parallelopiped,  the  octahedron,  the  tetra- 
hedron, the  regular  hexahedron  prism,  the  duodecahedron 
with  equal  and  similar  rhombic  faces,  and  the  duode- 


106  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NATURE. 

cahedron  with  triangular  faces  consisting  of  two  regu- 
lar six-sided  pyramids  joined  base  to  base.  Proceeding 
a  little  further  in  your  study  of  the  growth  of  the  science, 
you  will  learn  of  the  theory  of  Weiss  which  allows  the 
ascertained  knowledge  of  mathematical  laws  and  rela- 
tions of  crystalline  structure  tocomeoutpurely.  You  will 
hear  of  the  law  that  the  indices  marking  the  relative  di- 
mensions of  the  pirameters  are  always  rational  numbers. 
In  short,  you  are  in  a  realm  of  geometry!  By  whatever 
energy  the  objects  before  you  have  been  formed,  it  has 
been  operated  under  mathematical  laws,  has  been  sub- 
servient to  mathematical  principles.  Whence  these  laws 
and  principles  ?  How  shall  we  describe  that  ultimate 
Power  to  which  they  must  be  traced?  How  shall  we 
name  It?  It  is  mathematical ;  is  It  a  Mathematician? 
It  is  geometrical ;  is  It  a  Geometer  ? 

The  laws  and  relations  which  we  observe  in  crystals 
are  not  peculiar  to  them.  In  fact,  mathematical  laws 
form  the  basis  of  nearly  all  operations  of  nature.  They 
constitute,  as  it  were,  the  very  framework  of  the  ma- 
terial world.*  Galileo's  .  discussion  of  the  cycloid 
proved,  long  afterward,  to  be  a  key  to  problems  concern- 
ing the  pendulum,  falling  bodies,  and  resistance  to  trans- 
verse pressure.  Four  centuries  before  Christ,  Plato  and 
his  scholars  were  occupied  upon  the  ellipse  as  a  purely 
geometric  speculation,  and  Socrates  seemed  inclined  to 
reprove  them  for  their  waste  of  time.  But  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  after  Christ,  Kepler  discovered  that  the 
Architect  of  the  heavens  had  given  us  magnificent  dia- 
grams of  the  ellipse  in  the  starry  sky;  ami,  since  that 
time,  all  the  navigation,  architecture,  and  engineering  of 
the  nineteenth  century  have  been  built  on  these  specula- 
tions of  Plato.f 

The  physical  universe  has  perhaps  no  more  general 
characteristic  than  this,  its  laws  are  mathematical  rela- 
tions. The  law  of  gravitation  which  rules  all  masses  ol 
matter,  great  or  small,  heavy  or  light,  at  all  distances,  is 
a  definite  numerical  law.  The  curves  which  the  heav- 
enly bodies  describe  under  the  influence  <<(  that  law  are 

♦Hitchcock      'Religion  ai  .iSj.    t  Profks- 

sok  I'iini     "Theism,"  page  368. 


SNO  W  CR  YS  TALS:  GOD  AS  GEO  ME  TER.        I OJ 

the  ellipse,  circle,  parabola,  and  hyperbola.  Or  in  other 
words,  they  all  belong  to  the  class  of  curves  called  conic 
sections,  the  properties  of  which  mathematicians  had  be- 
gun to  investigate  twenty  centuries  before  Newton.  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  showed  that  whatever  was  true  of  these 
curves  might  be  directly  transferred  to  the  heavens, 
since  the  planets  revolve  in  ellipses,  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter  in  circles,  and  the  comets  in  elliptic,  parabolic, 
and  hyperbolic  orbits.*  The  relative  intensity  of  mag- 
netic attraction  is  expressed  in  mathematical  terms. f 

The  law  of  chemical  combination  through  which  the 
whole  world  of  matter  has  been  built  up  out  of  a  few 
elements  always  admits  of  precise  numerical  expression. 
Each  color  in  the  rainbow  is  due  to  a  certain  number  of 
vibrations  in  a  given  time.  So  is  each  note  in  the  scale 
of  harmony.  Numerical  order  marks  the  vegetable  king- 
dom.J 

The  "tens  of  thousands  of  kinds  of  plants  all  harmo- 
nize with  each  other,  like  the  parts  of  concerted  music  ;"§ 
the  movements  of  plants  and  climbing  vines  are  expressed 
in  mathematical  terms,  such  as  ellipses,  ovals,  curves,  spi- 
rals, circular  spirals. ||  The  feathers  in  the  wings  and  tails 
of  birds  are  numbered.^  A  study  of  the  spiral  configu- 
ration of  the  wing  of  a  bird  and  its  spiral,  tail-like,  lash- 
ing movement  involves  some  of  the  most  profound 
questions  in  mathematics.**  These  references  might  be 
carried  into  every  department  of  physics  and  natural 
history  and  multiplied  indefinitely. 

Now,  if  nature  had  not  thus  been  ruled  by  numerical 
laws,  the  mathematical  sciences  could  not  have  become, 
as  they  are,  great  instruments  of  physical  investigation. 
They  could  not  have  been  applied  to  the  universe  at  all 
unless  its  order  had  been  of  the  exact  numerical  and 
geometrical  kind  which  has  been  indicated.ft    The  pro- 

*  Professor  Newcomb  —  "Popular  Astronomy,"  page  377. 
f  Quackenboss — "Natural  Philosophy,"  page  338.  %  McCosh — 
"Typical  Forms  in  Creation,"  page  18.  \  Professor  Asa  Gray 
— "  How  Plants  Grow,"  page  17.  ||  Darwin — "Power  of  Move- 
ment in  Plants,"  pages  1,  2;  "Climbing  Plants,"  pages  124,  125. 
*[  Duke  of  Argyle — "  Reign  of  Law,"  page  56.  **  Pettigrew — 
"Animal  Locomotion,"  page  154.  ff  Professor  Flint — "The- 
ism," page  135. 


108  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE; 

phet  Isaiah  does  not  exceed  the  exact  statements  of 
modern  science  when  he  declares  that  the  waters  had 
been  measured  in  the  hollow  of  the  Divine  Hand,  the 
heavens  meted  out  as  with  a  span,  the  dust  of  the  earth 
comprehended  in  a  measure,  the  mountains  weighed  in 
scales,  and  the  hills  in  a  balance.* 

The  science  of  chemistry,  which  has  appeared  upon 
the  scene  at  a  late  period  as  compared  with  astronomy, 
mathematics,  and  geometry,  has  recently  carried  its 
triumphs  beyond  this  world.  We  know  something  now 
of  the  chemistry  of  other  worlds.  The  constituents  of 
the  sun  and  stars  have  been  revealed  to  us  through  the 
spectroscope.  In  those  far-away  worlds  we  find  the  same 
elements  existing  that  enter  into  the  make-up  of  our 
globe.  We  find  those  elements  operated  according  to 
the  same  general  laws.  We  find,  in  short,  throughout 
the  whole  stellar  realms,  and  we  may  infer  also  through- 
out universal  space,  that  order  of  the  strictest  kind,  the 
most  definite  proportions  are  wrought  into  the  very 
structure  of  every  world  and  of  every  compound  in  the 
world,  air  and  water,  earth  and  mineral,  plant  and  ani- 
mal. Thus,  wherever  human  mind  directs  its  thought, 
it  is  brought  face  to  face  with  the  fact  that  order,  math- 
ematical order,  geometric  order,  pervades  all  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  universe. 

Can  we  forbear  to  start  the  question,  How  came  this 
so?  The  question  forces  itself  upon  us.  Reason  de- 
mands an  answer,  an  answer  that  will  satisfy  the  very 
conditions  of  our  being  as  reasoning  creatures.  Could 
anything  else  than  intelligence  thus  weigh,  calculate, 
ure,  or  number?  Could  mere  matter  know  the 
most  abstruse  properties  of  space  and  time  and  number 
so  as  to  obey  them  in  the  way  it  docs  ?  It  requires  the 
finest  mathematical  knowledge  to  apprehend  the  rela- 
tions which  exist  between  the  Stellar  worlds,  and  the 
nature  of  their  movements.  How  much  profounder  the 
skill  and  learning  needed  to  discover  and  verify  by 
mathematical  science  these  motions  and  relations! 
Could  all  these  have  originated  with  what  is  ignorant 

*  Isai.  xl.  12. 


SNOIV  CRYSTALS:  GOD  AS  GEOMETER.       109 

of  quantitative  relations  ?  Shall  we  stand  in  the  light 
of  these  facts  and  perceive  no  Mind  behind  them  all  ? 
Is  it  not  one  of  the  plainest  conclusions  to  human  rea- 
son that  these  objects  have  all  the  characteristics  of  ma- 
chines, constructed,  directed,  and  maintained  in  motion 
by  exact  mathematical  forces,  and  have  been  under  the 
influence,  at  some  period,  of  the  Mind  of  a  Geometrician, 
a  Mathematician,  a  Numberer,  and  a  Calculator  ? 

Wherever  we  see  order  we  infer  the  presence  of  mind. 
If  you  enter  a  house,  though  it  be  in  the  loneliest  desert, 
and  see  around  you  the  many  items  of  domestic  comfort 
and  taste  which  go  into  the  make-up  of  a  modern  home, 
arranged  in  that  exquisite  order  and  delicacy  of  place- 
ment and  grouping  which  mark  woman's  taste  within 
our  own  homes,  what  inference  would  you  make  ? 
Surely  you  would  say,  "  These  things  did  not  happen 
so !"  You  would  not  attribute  these  harmonious  rela- 
tions of  one  object  to  another  object,  of  a  room  to  the 
furniture  and  appointments  of  that  room,  simply  to 
some  inherent  tendency  of  the  matter  within  those  ar- 
ticles themselves  to  thus  assume  relations  ?  You  would 
say,  "  There  has  been  here  present  a  mind,  an  intelligent 
personality!"  And  the  attributes  of  that  personality 
you  would  probably  to  some  extent  rightly  infer  from 
the  conditions  and  qualities  of  the  objects  upon  which 
you  look.  Why  should  you  not  reason  in  like  manner 
when  you  survey  through  your  hand-lens  the  beautiful 
forms,  the  harmonious  adjustments,  the  orderly  relations 
of  the  snow-crystals,  and  their  various  parts  ?  Whose 
Mind  suggested  and  enforces  that  order? 

Suppose,  further,  that  you  throw  your  eye  upon  a 
corner  of  the  stairway  in  our  imagined  solitary  house, 
and  behold  standing  there  a  great  Dutch  clock,  its  pen- 
dulum ticking  through  its  arc,  its  second  hand  swinging 
around  its  circuit,  its  hour  and  minute  hands  in  proper 
place  and  movement,  the  mimic  moon  above  the  dial 
showing  the  exact  phase  of  that  satellite,  while  in  an- 
other corner  the  day  and  month  are  properly  indicated. 
You  would  hardly  say  that  there  was  within  that  clock 
some  inherent  quality  by  which  all  these  delicate  adjust- 
ments  and   skillful   arrangements   had   been   executed. 


1 10  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  RE. 

Would  the  thought  ever  enter  your  mind,  "This  clock 
simply  happened  here  and  so  "  ?  No  !  The  presence 
of  order,  the  mechanical  obedience  to  some  unseen 
power  which  you  know  to  lie  within  the  machinery  of 
the  clock,  would  tell  you  that  there  had  been  present 
a  mind  with  the  sense  of  proportion  and  mathematical 
relations,  that  that  mind  had  directed  the  construction 
of  the  machine  producing  before  you  such  accurate  and 
useful  reports  of  time  and  seasons. 

Why  should  you  reason  otherwise  when  you  observe 
through  the  help  of  science  the  movements  of  the  stellar 
worlds  that  whirl  in  space, — "  great  clocks  of  Eternity, 
which  beat  ages  as  ours  beat  seconds  ?"  They  move  on 
across  the  dial  of  the  heavens  in  beautiful  harmony,  in 
perfect  regularity,  throughout  orbits  and  at  times  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  are  adjusted  with  perfect  geometrical 
accuracy;  they  are  appointed  for  day  and  night,  for  sea- 
sons ami  years,  and  they  roll  on  unchanged  so  that  seed 
time  and  harvest,  summer  and  winter  do  not  fail.  Science 
at  such  and  such  a  date  says  they  shall  be  there  or  here, 
and  at  that  date  they  report  tnemselves  in  the  places 
assigned  to  them.  Is  it  not  inevitable  that  reasoning 
man  must  declare  that  behind  this  intricate  machinery, 
regulated  in  such  strict  mathematical  order  and  by  such 
geometric  law,  there  must  have  been  and  there  must  be 
a  Mind  conversant  with  the  laws  of  mathematics?  If 
the  universe  were  created  by  an  Intelligence  conversant 
with  quantitative  truth,  it  is  easy  to  understand,  says 
Professor  Flint,  why  it  should  be  ruled  by  definitely 
quantitative  laws,  but  that  there  should  be  such  laws  in 
a  universe  that  did  not  originate  in  Intelligence  is  not 
only  inexplicable  but  an  inconceivable  improbability. 
Apart  from  the  supposition  of  the  Supreme  Intelligence, 
the  chances  of  disorder  againsl  order,  of  chaos  against 
cosmos,   "I   the  numerically   indefinite   and    inconstant 

againsl  the  definite  and  constant,  must  be  pronounced  all 

but   nothing.     The  belief  m  a   Divine   Reason  is  alone 

Capable  of   rendering  rational  the  fact  that  nuthetn 
truths  a:  d  in  the  material  w  orld.* 


*  "Theism,"  page  137. 


SNOIV  CRYSTALS:  GOD  AS  GEOMETER.       1 1 1 

This  is  the  impartial  conclusion  of  the  profoundest 
thinking  upon  the  latest  facts  of  science  by  the  most 
vigorous  philosophical  minds  of  the  present  day.  It  is 
only  an  echo  of  the  utterance  of  one  of  the  earliest  med- 
itations upon  a  like  theme,  that  of  Canon  Derham,  who 
a  century  and  a  quarter  ago  made  this  observation : — 
"  That  every  Planet  should  have  as  many,  and  various 
Motions,  and  those  as  regularly,  and  well-contrived  and 
ordered,  as  the  World  and  its  Inhabitants  have  Occasion 
for,  what  could  all  this  be  but  the  Work  of  a  wise  and 
kind,  as  well  as  omnipotent  Creator,  and  Orderer  of 
the  World's  Affairs?  A  Work  which  is  as  plain  a  Sig- 
nal of  God,  as  that  of  a  Clock,  or  other  Machine  is  of 
Man."* 

"  It  is  impossible,"  says  the  great  philosopher,  Imman- 
uel  Kant.f  "  to  contemplate  the  fabric  of  the  world  with- 
out recognizing  the  admirable  order  of  its  arrangement, 
and  the  certain  manifestation  of  the  Hand  of  God  in  the 
perfection  of  its  correlations.  Reason,  when  once  it  has 
considered  and  admired  so  much  beauty  and  so  much 
perfection,  feels  a  just  indignation  at  the  dauntless  folly 
which  dares  ascribe  all  this  to  chance  and  a  happy  acci- 
dent. It  must  be  that  the  Highest  Wisdom  conceived 
the  plan,  and  Infinite  Power  carried  it  into  execution." 
Kant  has  not  always  been  credited  with  entertaining 
views  so  sound  as  these  upon  this  fundamental  principle 
of  Theology.  Perhaps,  therefore,  all  the  more  readily  I 
may  obtain  through  the  great  philosopher  a  hearing  for 
the  truth,  which  many  men  might  deny  to  a  humble 
minister  of  the  Gospel.     Hear  him  further: — 

"  All  things  which  set  forth  reciprocal  harmonies  in 
nature  must  be  bound  together  in  a  single  Existence 
on  which  they  collectively  depend.  Thus  there  exists 
a  Being  of  all  beings,  an  Infinite  Understanding  and  a 
Self-existent  Wisdom,  from  which  nature,  in  the  whole 
aggregate  of  her  correlations,  derives  existence.  Fur- 
ther, it  is  not  allowable  to   maintain  that  the  activity 


*  Canon  Derham— "Astro-Theology,"  page  73.  London,  A.  D. 
i75S.(  f  "General  History  of  Nature,"  quoted  in  Professor  Winch- 
ell's  "World-Life;  or,  Comparative  Geology, "  where  an  admir- 
able abstract  of  this  valuable  essay  will  be  found. 


I  i  2  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tf'RE. 

of  nature  is  prejudicial  to  the  existence  of  a  Highest 
Being;  the  more  perfect  it  is  in  its  developments,  the 
b«  tter  its  genera]  laws  contribute  to  order  and  harmony, 
the  more  conclusive  is  the  demonstration  of  the  God- 
head from  whom  these  relations  are  borrowed.  His 
productiveness  is  no  longer  the  operation  of  chan> 
the  consequence  of  accident;  from  Him  flows  every- 
thing according  to  unalterable  laws,  which,  therefore, 
must  produce  only  what  is  fit,  because  they  are  only  the 
reflection  of  a  scheme  infinitely  wise,  from  which  all 
disorder  is  banished.  It  is  not  the  fortuitous  concourse 
of  the  atoms  of  Lucretius  which  has  builded  the  world, 
implanted  forces  and  laws  whose  source  is  the  wisest 
Understanding,  and  have  been  the  unvarying  cause  of 
that  order  which  can  only  flow  from  them,  not  by 
chance  but  by  Ordination."* 

II.  Our  second  lesson  from  the  snow-crystals  is  a 
practical  one.  Let  us  imitate  the  Great  Creator  in 
Faithful  Doing  of  all  Life's  Work  and  Duty 

The  simplest  creatures  of  the  Divine  Hand  and  the 
minutest  details  of  their  structure  are  not  deemed  un- 
worthy of  Infinite  Power.  Who  could  have  thought 
these  crystals  of  the  snow-storm  worthy  of  such  care  ? 
Only  a  snow-flake !  Is  it  not  a  waste  of  beauty?  What  un- 
numbered myriads  <>t  them  are  floating  there  through  the 
skies!  How  they  blanket  the  fields ;  drift  in  great  banks 
along  the  fences  and  railway  tracks ;  fill  the  ravines  in  the 
hills;  pack  the  gorges  of  the  mountain ;  and  lieheapson 
heaps  upon  tin-  highest  summits!  Surely,  as  we  think 
of  the  seeming  wastage  <  >fbeauty,  we  may  sing  over  these 
flowers  of  the  snow,  these  crystal  gems  of  the  winter 
storm,  as  Gray  sang  in  his  "  Elegy:  " — 

I'ull  many  a  gem  of  puresl  ray  HTcnr 

l  In-  dark  unfathom'd  <  ■<■  in  bear  ; 

Full  many  a  flower  is  born  t<>  blush  un 
Ami  waste  its  SW<  the  desert  air. 

Y<    !     Thi       fl  '  the  snow,  these  gems  of  the 

winter  storm,  God  has  wrought  out  with  as  careful  touch 

"Allgemeine  Naturgeschichte  und  Theorie  dea  1  Una- 
rm K"  page  3 '5.  sqq- 


SNOW  CRYSTALS:  GOD  AS  GEOMETER.       113 

as  the  Victoria  Regia  of  the  Nile  or  the  twinkling  lustre 
of  Venus,  the  Evening  Star. 

Our  wonder  is  still  more  awakened  when  we  remem- 
ber what  force  is  pnt  into  the  creation  of  every  one  of 
these  snow-flakes.  A  learned  naturalist  has  declared  that 
to  produce  from  the  vapor  of  water  a  quantity  of  snow- 
flakes  which  a  child  could  carry,  would  demand  energy 
competent  to  gather  up  the  shattered  blocks  of  the  largest 
stone  avalanche  of  the  Alps,  and  pitch  them  twice  the 
height  from  which  they  fell.  If  a  single  baby  handful 
require  such  force  for  its  creation,  what  power  must  have 
been  put  forth  to  produce  the  thick  blanketing  of  snow 
that  lies  upon  the  Northland,  from  mountain  top  to 
valley,  during  the  winter  season?  Indeed,  this  is  a  very 
wonderful  reflection.  Yet,  it  is  not  the  thought  of  reck- 
less waste  that  comes  to  me;  not  the  suggestion  that  this 
is  but  the  play  of  blind  Titans,  giants  of  force,  throwing 
away  their  might  in  these  careless  disportings,  as  little 
thoughtful  of  the  results  of  work  or  play  as  a  sporting 
group  of  children.  Rather  I  see  in  this  that  infinite  ex- 
actness in  the  smallest  details  of  nature's  work  which 
marks  the  structure  of  everything  whether  organic  or 
inorganic.  Here  I  learn  that  what  is  worth  doing  at 
all  is  worth  doing  well.  And  it  is  worth  well  doing  for 
the  sake  of  well  doing,  because  perfection  is  a  quality  of 
the  noblest  mind,  and  above  all  is  the  quality  of  the  In- 
finite Mind;  and  therefore  the  works  of  the  Divine 
Hand  must  in  themselves  be  perfect. 

Is  it  your  lot  in  life  to  labor  in  wood,  or  stone,  or  iron, 
or  paper,  or  cloth,  or  other  material  or  fabric?  See  to 
it  that  in  imitation  of  the  infinite  Architect  and  all-wise 
Artisan,  you  carry  with  you  to  your  toil  a  sense  of  joy 
and  pride  in  your  labor.  Cherish  the  desire  and  purpose 
to  do  your  best  for  the  sake  of  doing  your  best,  to  pro- 
duce the  most  perfect  work,  not  simply  because  it  pays, 
not  simply  because  you  are  under  pecuniary  obligations 
so  to  do,  but  because  in  the  exercise  of  your  noblest 
manhood  and  womanhood  you  esteem  it  a  part  of  your 
life  to  make  your  life's  products  as  near  perfection  as 
your  conditions  and  abilities  will  allow.  I  never  knew  a 
good  mechanic  who  was  not  proud  of  what  he  is  pleased 


I  14  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TL  A'/;. 

to  call  his  "job,"  and  who  did  not  work  upon  it  conscien- 
tiously, lovingly,  framing  it  to  the  best  of  his  lofty  ideal 
even  though  he  should  receive  for  it  no  extra  pay  and  no 
extra  prai     . 

To  such  a  man  or  woman  the  satisfaction  of  doing 
good  work  is  a  part  of  his  reward.  The  careless  worker 
is  never  happy  in  his  toil.  His  slipshod  structures  and 
slighted  jobs  can  carry  no  lofty  pleasure  to  his  mind. 
His  ideal  is  lost.  He  labors  simply  with  "eye  service" 
as  a  man  pleaser.  He  does  not  strike  with  hammer,  or 
shove  plane  and  saw,  or  hold  the  plow,  or  drive  the 
shuttle,  or  draw  thread  and  needle,  or  swing  mallet  to 
chisel,  or  wield  yardstick  and  scissors,  or  push  the  pen, 
or  do  whatever  work  as  unto  God,  knowing  that  He,  the 
Master  Worker  Divine,  before  whom  all  men  and  their 
work  must  stand  in  judgment,  in  making  the  smallest 
product  of  nature  leaves  upon  it  the  stamp  of  minutest 
care. 

III.  Our  last  lesson  is  one  of  Faith  and  Comfort  in 
the  Assurance  of  our  Heavenly  Father's  Care. 

Recently  I    looked   into  the  Last  Journals  of  David 
Livingstone,  that  hero  ami  martyr  of  modern  missions, 
1  tify  a  reference  to  a  simple  point  of  natural  history, 
md   the  allusion  which   I  sought — an  observation 
upon   the  habits  of  African  sunbirds,  who  use  the  spin- 
ning work  of  spiders  to  make  their  little   nests.     Upon 
page  immediately  following  this  reference  to 
the  spider,  a  creature  so  commonly  despised  and  deemed 
unworthy  of  the  slightest  human  sympathy,  1  read  these 

word-,  written  in  the  heart  of  the  dark  continent,  which 
hoit  time  received  to  itself  its  noblest  sacrifice,  the 
life  <>f  the  venerable  man. 

"What   i      the   atonement  of  Christ?      It   is    Himself: 

It  is  the  inherent  and  everlasting  mercy  of  Cod  made 
apparent  to  human  eyes  and  ears.    The  everlasting  1 

;  by  our  Lord's   lite  and   death.      It  si: 

that  God    forgiv<    .  b  cause   he   loves  to  forgive.     He 

works  by  smiles  if  possible,  if  not  by  frowns;  pain  is 
only  a  means  of  enforcing  love. 

"If  we   speak   of  strength,    lol    He   is   strong.     The 


SNOIV  CRYSTALS:  GOD  AS  CEO  METER.        115 

Almighty ;  the  Over-power ;  the  Mind  of  the  universe. 
The  heart  thrills  at  the  idea  of  his  greatness.  All  the 
great  among  men  have  been  remarkable  at  once  for  the 
grasp  and  minuteness  of  their  knowledge.  Great  astron- 
omers seem  to  know  every  iota  of  the  knowable.  The 
great  Duke,  when  at  the  head  of  armies,  could  give  all 
the  particulars  to  be  observed  in  a  cavalry  charge,  and 
took  care  to  have  food  ready  for  all  his  troops.  Men 
think  that  greatness  consists  in  lofty  indifference  to  all 
trivial  things.  The  Grand  Llama,  sitting  in  immovable 
contemplation  of  nothing,  is  a  good  example  of  what  a 
human  mind  would  regard  as  majesty ;  but  the  Gospels 
reveal  Jesus,  the  manifestation  of  the  blessed  God  over 
all,  as  minute  in  his  care  of  all.  He  exercises  a  vigilance 
more  constant,  complete,  and  comprehensive,  every  hour 
and  every  minute,  over  each  of  his  people  than  their 
utmost  self-love  could  ever  attain.  His  tender  love  is 
more  exquisite  than  a  mother's  heart  can  feel."* 

Is  not  this  also  a  most  inspiring  truth :  He  so  clothes 
the  lilies  of  the  field  that  they  outvie  in  beauty  Solo- 
mon's imperial  robes.  Not  a  sparrow  shall  fall  without 
our  Father.  He  builds  the  crystal  structure  of  the 
snow-flake  as  carefully  as  he  rounds  out  the  proportions 
of  the  mightiest  sun.  He  colors  the  insect,  whose 
painted  wing  is  expanded  within  the  solitudes  of  a  Bra- 
zilian forest,  as  carefully  as  he  tints  the  glory  of  the 
Moon,  that  shines  in  the  face  of  all  mankind.  Is  not 
man,  the  crown  of  Creation's  work,  equally  a  subject 
of  the  Creator's  care  ?  Surely,  surely  !  Yes,  how  much 
more,  is  the  conclusion  of  the  blessed  Lord,  shall  he 
care  for  you,  oh,  ye  of  little  faith !  No  man  is  so  insig- 
nificant among  his  fellows;  no  life  is  so  obscure  in  the 
multitude  of  pushing  life  forces  of  this  great  world  ;  no 
child  is  so  small,  so  weak,  so  poor;  no  plan  for  honest 
work  is  so  limited  in  its  sphere, — as  to  lie  outside  of  the 
benevolent  thought  and  helping  force  of  the  Almighty 
Father.  Who  need  despair  with  a  truth  like  this  writ- 
ten on  his  heart?  Who  need  hesitate  to  engage  in 
labor  for  the  advancement  of  mankind,  with  encouraging 


*  Livingstone — "Last  Journals,"  page  451 


Il6  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

facts  like  these  shining  before  him  on  the  Inspired  Page, 
set  in  the  heavens  everywhere  around  him,  and  show- 
ering upon  him  in  the  winter  storm,  out  of  the  Crystal 
Treasures  of  the  show?  "Consider  the  lilies  of  the 
field,"  said  Jesus.  The  fields  are  lying  white  to-day 
with  their  lilies  locked  up  in  their  bosoms.  But  con- 
sider the  lilies  of  the  sky,  the  beautiful  crystals  of  snow, 
and  they  will  teach  you  the  same  lesson  of  the  All-fath- 
er's love  and  tenderest  care. 


LECTURE  VII. 


Snow  Beds: 
The  Uses  of  Adversity. 

6.   For  He  saitJi  to  the  snow,  Fall  thou  on  the  earth, 
i j.    Whether  it  be  for  correction,  or  for  his  land, 
Or  for  mercy,  that  He  cause  it  to  come." 

— Job  xxxvii.  6,  13. 


SNOW-BEDS  :  THE  USES  OF  ADVERSITY. 


By  the  term  snow-beds  as  used  in  this  lecture  I  ex- 
press the  covering  of  snow  which  during  the  winter 
remains  in  greater  or  less  thickness  upon  the  ground. 
There  is  at  least  one  Scriptural  reference  to  the  formation 
of  these  beds,  although  the  passage  is  regarded  by  com- 
mentators as  somewhat  obscure.  In  the  war  song  and 
victory  hymn  given  in  the  sixty-eighth  Psalm  there  is 
this  striking  and  somewhat  puzzling  allusion  to  snow. 

13  When  ye  bivouac  among  the  sheep  folds 

It  is  as  the  dove's  wings  covered  with  silver, 
And  her  feathers  with  glistening  gold. 

14  When  the  Almighty  scattered  kings  therein 
It  is  as  when  it  snovveth  in  Zalmon. 

The  first  figure  is  one  of  peace.  The  Israelites  are 
viewed  in  their  night  bivouac  among  the  folds  of  sheep, 
and  the  joy  of  their  prosperity  and  ease  is  compared  to 
the  varied  hues  of  a  dove  disporting  in  the  sun.  In 
contrast  with  this  peaceful  rural  scene  is  drawn  an  image 
of  war.  Israel's  enemies  are  routed.  The  vast  army  is 
seen  scattered  over  the  heights  of  Zalmon ;  the  shining 
armor  of  the  fleeing  soldiers,  compared,  as  in  the 
Homeric  figure,  to  the  snow,*  is  likened  to  the  tumultu- 
ous rushing  of  snow-flakes  through  the  air;  and  the 
glistening  helmets,  shields,  and  spears  cast  away  upon 
the  ground  are  likened  to  the  snow-beds  after  a  storm 
whitening  the  face  of  the  mountain. 

The  formation  of  these  snow-beds  has  been  well  de- 
scribed by  one  of  our  own  poets  : — 

The  snow  had  begun  in  the  gloaming, 

And  busily  all  the  night 
Had  been  heaping  field  and  highway 

With  a  silence  deep  and  white. 

Every  pine,  and  fir,  and  hemlock 

Wore  ermine  too  dear  for  an  earl, 
And  the  poorest  twig  on  the  elm-tree 

Was  ringed  inch-deep  with  pearl. 

*  Iliad,  xix.  357-361. 

(119) 


1 20  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NA  Tl  TRE. 

From  sheds  new-roofed  with  Carrara 

Came  chanticleer's  muffled  crow, 
The  stiff  rails  were  soften'd  to  swan's-down, 

And  still  lluttered  down  the  snow.* 

The  advantage  of  these  beds  or  blanketings  of  snow 
is  in  a  measure  apprehended,  but  there  are  few  persons 
who  really  estimate  in  full  their  value  to  the  soil  and  to 
mankind  at  large.  A  few  facts  briefly  stated  must  suffice 
to  uncover  this  truth.  Most  of  you  are  familiar  with 
what  is  known  as  snow-crust.  In  our  own  latitude  of 
Philadelphia  it  may  be  occasionally  seen  in  open  fields. 
But  in  more  northern  sections,  as  New  England,  north- 
ern New  York,  and  Canada,  a  crust  forms  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  snow  and  remains  during  the  greater  portion 
of  the  year.  What  has  formed  that  crust  ?  "It  is  frozen 
water,  to  be  sure,  thawed  out  from  the  snow  on  a  bright 
day."  Such  is  the  common  thought.  Some  portion  of 
the  crust  may  be  attributed  to  this  cause,  but  for  the 
most  part  it  is  probably  produced  by  the  moisture  of  the 
air  which  is  precipitated  upon  it,  precisely  as  dew  is 
formed  upon  the  cold  earth  in  summer.  In  other  words, 
whenever  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  in  contact 
with  snow  is  above  the  point  of  saturation  at  the  temper- 
ature to  which  the  air  is  cooled  by  such  contact,  the 
superfluous  moisture  is  absorbed  by  the  snow  or  con- 
densed and  frozen  upon  its  surface.f  This  of  course 
adds  to  the  winter  supply  of  water  received  from  the 
snow  by  the  ground,  and  no  doubt  far  exceeds  the 
amount  which  is  lost  by  evaporation  from  the  surface  of 
the  snows. 

A  second  fact  is  to  be  noted.  Snow  is  of  a  color  un- 
favorable for  the  radiation  of  heat.  It  follows  that  when 
heavy  beds  are  laid  upon  the  earth  they  act  precisely  as 
do  bed-coverings  or  clothes  to  the  human  body.  The 
warmth  of  the  covered  soil  is  kept  within  itself.  More- 
over, to  some  extent  the  raysof  the  sun  penetrate  the  snow 
even  when  it  is  of  considerable  thickness.     From  these 

two  facts  results  a  third  fact;   viz.,  that  the  upper  or  sur- 
face stratum  of  the  ground,  even  though  it  be  frozen  at 

Mami  s  kt  sski  1.  Lowell— "The  First  Snow-Fall."  t  Marsh 
—  "'The  Earth  as  Modified  by  Human  Action,"  page  209. 


SNO  W-BEDS:   THE  USES  OF  AD  VERSITY.       I 2 1 

the  first  fall  of  the  snow,  is  soon  thawed  out  and  does  not 
again  fall  below  the  freezing  point  during  the  winter,  at 
least  while  the  snow  lasts.  In  Vermont,  for  four  succes- 
sive days  of  one  winter,  the  temperature  immediately- 
above  the  snow  was  thirteen  degrees  below  zero.  Be- 
neath the  snow,  which  was  four  inches  deep,  the  temper- 
ature was  nineteen  degrees  above  zero,  a  difference  of 
thirty-two  degrees  within  four  or  five  inches  of  space. 
Under  a  drift  of  snow  two  feet  deep  the  temperature 
was  twenty-seven  degrees  above  zero,  thus  making 
a  difference  of  forty  degrees,  showing  that  the  soil  be- 
neath the  snow-beds  was  from  thirty-two  to  forty  de- 
grees warmer  than  the  temperature  of  the  air.*  The 
value  of  this  fact  in  preserving  the  life  and  vigor  of 
plants  is  at  once  apparent.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
in  the  borders  and  glades  of  our  American  woods  and 
forests  violets  and  other  small  plants  begin  to  vegetate 
as  soon  as  the  snow  has  thawed  the  soil  around  their 
roots,  and  they  are  not  unfrequently  found  in  full  flower 
under  two  or  three  feet  of  snow.f 

A  third  fact  is  now  to  be  considered.  The  layer  of 
snow  lying  nearest  to  the  soil,  having  a  heavy  bed  above 
it  with  its  enclosing  crust,  soon  begins,  to  melt.  This 
process  continues  more  or  less  abundantly  according  to 
the  temperature  during  the  winter.  What  becomes  of 
the  water  thus  formed  ?  It  is  slowly  imbibed  by  the 
vegetable  mould,  sinks  into  the  under  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  finds  its  way  into  the  springs  and  streams 
which  are  the  sources  of  our  creeks  and  rivers.  Very 
little  water  runs  off  in  the  winter  by  superficial  water- 
courses, except  in  rare  cases  of  sudden  thaw,  and  there 
can  be  no  question  that  much  the  greater  part  of  the 
snow  deposited,  in  the  forests  at  least,  is  slowly  melted 
and  absorbed  by  the  earth.  It  is  questionable  whether 
the  snow  in  certain  latitudes  has  not  as  much  to  do  with 
the  fertility  of  the  land  and  fullness  of  the  springs  and 
water-courses  as  the  rain.  The  rains  of  summer  coming 
with  sudden  dash  run  away  from  the  soil  faster  than  the 
ground  can  imbibe  them  ;  but  it  is  not  so  with  the  snow. 

*  Reports  Department  Agriculture,  1872,  May  and  June,  f  Amer- 
ican Naturalist,  May,  1869,  page  155-6. 


122  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

It  lies  in  beds  upon  the  top  of  the  ground,  and,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  process  of  infiltration  continues  the  win- 
ter through.  Thus  the  moisture  precipitated  throughout 
winter  months  in  the  form  of  snow  is  imbibed  by  the 
earth  in  far  greater  proportion  than  are  the  rains  of 
summer.  This  fact  was  not  unknown  to  the  writers  of 
Holy  Scripture.  The  prophet  Isaiah  alludes  to  it  in  the 
familiar  verse:  "  For  as  the  rain  cometh  down  and  the 
snow  from  heaven  and  returneth  not  thither  till  it  has 
moistened  the  earth  and  fertilized  it  and  made  it  green, 
and  offered  seed  to  the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater,  so 
will  my  word  be  which  goeth  forth  out  of  my  mouth."* 
It  is  a  striking  evidence  of  the  closeness  and  accuracy 
of  the  prophet's  observation  of  nature  that-  he  should 
thus  have  given  snow  a  place  side  by  side  with  rain  in 
watering  and  fertilizing  the  earth,  a  position  upon  which 
few  of  us,  perhaps,  would  have  ventured. 

I.  The  first  and  chief  lesson  which  we  are  to  learn 
from  Beds  of  Snow  is  conveyed  in  the  old  adage — 
Sweet  are  the  Uses  of  Adversity. 

From  its  loose  texture  and  from  the  fact  that  it  con- 
tains several  times  its  bulk  of  air,  snow  is  a  very  bad 
conductor  of  heat.  It  is  ranked  with  wool  among  the 
poorest  of  conductors,  and  thus  it  forms  an  admirable 
covering  for  the  ground  from  the  effects  of  radiation. 
It  is  relatively  as  warm  to  the  earth  in  its  thick  en- 
swathemcnt  of  white  packed  crystals  as  is  the  softest 
wool  to  the  human  body.  It  has  happened  not  unfre- 
quently  in  times  of  great  cold  that  the  soil  is  forty 
degrees  warmer  than  the  surface  of  the  overlying  snow. 
These  facts  will  suffice  to  show  the  value  of  the  snowy 
mantle  which  God  sends  to  the  earth  during  the  severe 
frosts  of  winter.  Yet,  as  a  rule,  those  who  live  in  cities 
can  hardly  be  said  to  welcome  with  much  enthusiasm 
the  coming  of  a  heavy  snow-storm. 

It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  sight  when  the  white  Hakes 
tumble  through  the  air,  and  fall  softly,  eddying,  sport- 
ing, rising,  and  sinking  ere  they  drop  upon  their  final 

*  Isaiah  lv.  io,  n. 


SNOW-BEDS:   THE  USES  OF  ADVERSITY.       123 

resting-place.  It  is  not  an  unpleasant  sight  presented 
by  streets  and  houses  when  whitened  over  with  the  first 
clean  flakes.  They  hide  away  for  the  moment  the  foul- 
ness of  our  streets,  and  all  the  uncouth,  ungraceful,  and 
repulsive  objects  that  so  frequently  greet  our  city-en- 
vironed eyes.  The  snow  will  stir  a  momentary  joy  in 
the  city  maiden's  heart  as  visions  of  sleigh  ride  and 
toboggan  slide  dance  through  her  brain.  The  school- 
boy is  filled  with  enthusiasm  as  the  circling  crystals 
greet  his  vision  through  school-room  windows. 

"  It  snows  !  "  cries  the  schoolboy,  "  Hurrah  !  "  and  his  shout 

Is  ringing  through  parlor  and  hall, 
While  swift  as  the  wing  of  a  swallow  he's  out, 

And  his  playmates  have  answered  his  call ; 
It  makes  the  heart  leap  but  to  witness  their  joy ; 

Proud  wealth  has  no  pleasure,  I  trow, 
Like  the  rapture  that  throbs  in  the  pulse  of  the  boy 

As  he  gathers  his  treasures  of  snow. 

Nevertheless,  to  the  great  mass  of  dwellers  within  city 
walls,  snow  is  an  unmitigated  nuisance.  It  blocks  up 
the  tramways,  the  cable  tracks,  the  lines  of  transporta- 
tion and  business.  It  becomes  trampled  and  soiled  in  a 
little  while,  and  lies  along  the  edges  of  the  pavements 
in  great  winrows  that  day  by  day  grow  more  unlovely 
to  the  eyes  as  the  sweeping  machines  pile  upon  them  the 
accumulated  filth  of  the  streets.  We  could  easily  spare 
the  snow  from  our  city  limits.  But  beyond  city  walls 
the  farmer  and  gardener  look  upon  the  falling  flakes  with 
different  feelings.  As  they  come  flying  through  the  air 
and  slowly  gather  upon  fields  of  grain  and  meadows 
of  grass,  and  pack  around  the  roots  of  growing  trees  in 
nursery  and  orchard,  the  agriculturist  is  glad.  His 
farm  is  not  as  beautiful  to  your  eyes  as  in  the  freshness 
of  the  early  spring,  or  the  maturity  of  summer's  beauty, 
but  the  farmer  will  tell  you  that  his  grain  and  grass  lie 
snugly  beneath  the  snow  through  the  whole  winter, 
quite  protected  from  the  sharp  frosts.  When  the  sun 
gains  strength  in  the  spring  time,  and  the  warm  currents 
flow  once  more  through  the  earth,  and  the  snow  is 
melted  and  gone,  up  spring  the  tender  blades.  Then, 
when    harvest     is    over,    well-packed     hay-mows    and 


124  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NATURE. 

granaries  heaped  with  yellow  grain  tell  that  the  cheer- 
less-looking snow  was  after  all  a  kindly  friend  to  the 
farmer. 

It  has  served  the  florist  quite  as  well,  for  underneath 
its  fleecy  beds  the  flower  plants  have  snugly  slept  and 
prepared  them  for  their  early  spring  awakening.  Our 
Quaker  poet  voiced  this  fact  in  his  beautiful  apostrophe 
to  the  snow. 

Fill  soft  and  deep,  O  winter  snow, 

The  sweet  azalea's  oaken  dells, 
And  hide  the  bank  where  roses  blow, 

And  swung  the  azure  bells  ! 

O'erlay  the  amber  violet's  leaves, 
The  purple  aster's  brook-Mtle  home, 

Guard  all  the  flowers  her  pencil  gives    ■ 
A  life  beyond  their  bloom. 

And  she,  when  spring  comes  round  again, 
By  greening  slope  and  singing  flood 

Shall  wander,  seeking,  not  in  vain, 
Her  darlings  of  the  wood.* 

It  is  often  thus  with  the  soul,  upon  whom  fall  the 
trials  and  sorrows  of  this  earthly  career.  "  Now  no 
affliction  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but 
grievous ;  nevertheless,  afterwards  it  yieldeth  peaceable 
fruits."  The  experience  of  men  asserts  it  to  be  true 
that  burdens  on  the  human  heart,  like  snow-beds  on  the 
breast  of  meadow,  field,  and  orchard,  prevent  radiation 
of  the  soul's  warmth  ;  retain  within  the  heart  the  graces 
and  blessings  of  the  spiritual  life;  save  the  soul  from 
chilling  amidst  the  cold  currents  of  worldliness  and  self- 
ishness, and  make  the  nature  rich  and  fertile  with  the 
blessings  of  a  holy  life. 

A  distinguished  naturalist  has  been  recently  reported 
as  declaiming  against  the  character  of  God,  as  it  is  wit- 
nessed in  the  life  of  living  creatures.  Suffering  so  pre- 
dominates from  the  lowest  organization  to  the  highest; 
there  are  so  many  scenes  that  stir  one's  pity  as  he  be- 
holds, that  the  question  will  start  up,  how  can  these 
things  be  beneath  the  dominion  of  an  all-merciful  Crea- 
tor?    Passing  into  the  sphere  of  human  life  one  sees  not 

♦John  Greenleai"  Whittiek  —  "  Fluwers  in  Winter." 


SNO  U -BEDS:   THE  USES  OF  AD  VERSITY.        1 2 5 

only  those  physical  sufferings  by  which  man  is  allied  to 
the  lower  animals,  but  also  those  mental  and  spiritual 
conflicts  and  griefs  which  seem  to  be  reserved  for  him 
alone  by  reason  of  those  endowments  which  make  him 
more  sensitive  to  both  pleasure  and  pain.  Surely  the 
Christian  philosopher  needs  to  ponder  but  a  moment  a 
difficulty  like  this,  as  far,  at  least,  as  it  relates  to  men. 
The  answer  springs  readily  to.  his  heart  and  tongue, 
"Whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth."*  "Consider 
in  thine  heart,  that,  as  a  man  chasteneth  his  son,  so  the 
Lord  chasteneth  thee."f  "  Furthermore,  we  had  the 
fathers  of  our  flesh  to  chasten  us,  and  we  gave  them  rever- 
ence ;  shall  we  not  much  rather  be  in  subjection  unto 
the  Father  of  spirits,  and  live  ?  For  they  verily  for  a  few 
days  chastened  us  as  seemed  good  to  them ;  but  he  for 
our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of  his  holiness.  All 
chastening  seemeth  for  the  present  to  be  not  joyous,  but 
grievous  ;  yet  afterwards  it  yieldeth  peaceable  fruit  unto 
them  that  have  been  exercised  thereby,  even  the  fruit  of 
righteousness.  Wherefore  lift  up  the  hands  that  hang 
down,  and  the  palsied  knees;  and  make  straight  paths 
for  your  feet,  that  that  which  is  lame  be  not  turned  out 
of  the  way,  but  rather  be  healed."! 

To  the  Christian,  development  of  a  holy  character 
after  the  likeness  of  the  eternal  God  is  the  chief  end  of 
all  things.  Nature's  noblest  efforts  look  toward  man 
himself.  Man  stands  at  the  apex  of  the  zoological  pyr- 
amid. All  life  centres  towards  him ;  types  and  shadows 
of  the  past;  typical  forms  of  being;  the  physical  out- 
come of  all  the  convulsions  and  changes  of  the  geologic 
ages ;  the  processes  by  which  the  surface  of  the  earth 
was  diversified  and  made  a  fitting  home  for  man  ;  the 
excess  of  vegetation  in  the  carboniferous  era  by  which 
the  treasures  of  coal  were  locked  up  within  the  earth's 
surface  to  await  man's  use  and  forward  the  highest  de- 
velopment of  his  character  and  abilities, §  all  these,  and 
all  other  things  seem  to  have  been  wrought  out  with  a 
view  to  the  introduction  upon  the  scene  of  that  which  is 
nature's   sublimest  product — man   himself.     These   and 

*  Heb.  xii.  6.  f  Deut. -  viii.  5.  \  Heb.  xii.  9-13.  \  McCosh  and 
Dickie — "Typical  Forms,"  page  350. 


i  2(  -  THE  Gi  )SPEL  IN  X.  1  TURE. 

multitudes  of  other  arrangements,  collocations,  struc- 
tures, and  products  of  a  useful  and  beneficent  character, 
are  SO  man}'  indications  that  during  the  long  proo 
the  world's  fitting  up,  while  yet  the  human  era  was  con- 
templated as  we  contemplate  the  millennium,  Man,  the 
nature  <  >f  Man,  and  the  wants  of  Man,  constituted  at 
one  of  the  objective  points  of  cycles  of  geological  pre- 
paration.* Even  the  evolutionary  philosophers  recog- 
nize this  fact,  and  are  ready  to  assert  that  the  noblest 
outcome  of  the  claimed  processes  of  evolution  is  the 
human  species;  that  Man  is  the  consummate  fruition  of 
creative  energy,  and  the  chief  object  of  Divine  care.f 
Now,  as  in  nature  the  greatest  of  all  things  is  man,  so  in 
mail  the  greatest  of  all  things  is  the  immortal  soul. 
Shall  we  accept  the  thought  that  nature  lias  labored  so 
long  toward  the  development  of  his  physical  being  and 
refuse  the  reflection  that  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  is 
worthy  of  the  richest  endowments  and  highest  develop- 
ment at  whatever  cost?  In  point  of  fact  it  is  true  that 
the  highest  spiritual  as  well  as  the  highest  physical  is 
procured  at  the  heaviest  cost,  is  the  outcome  of  convul- 
sions, struggles,  pains. 

There  are  few  who  will  question  the  statement  that 
discipline  is  good  for  nations  and  the  race  at  large. 

The  lands  familiar  with  snow  rear  the  hardiest  chil- 
dren. The  discipline  that  comes  through  a  conflict  with 
winter  and  storm  develops  the  manly  and  womanly  vir- 
tues into  vigorous  action.  A  nature  too  rich,  too  prod- 
igal of  her  gifts,  does  not  compel  man  to  snatch  from 
her  his  daily  bread  by  his  daily  toil.  A  regular  climate, 
the  ab  f  a  dormant  season,  render  forethought  of 

little  use  to  him;   nothing  invites  him  to  that  struggle  of 
intelligence  against  nature,  which    raises  the  forces   of 

man   t<>  -<>  high  a  pitch'.      Thus    he   never  dreams  • 
sisting  this  all  powerful  physical  nature;  heisconq 
by  her;  he  submits  to  the  yoke,  and  becomes  again  the 
animal  man,  in  proportion  as  he  abandons    himseil   to 
these  influem  tful  of  his  high  mora!  destination. 

In  the  temperate  climates  all  is  activity,  movement  The 

|-  -.    rcHBLi     "Sk.  t<  hes  of  Creati  ■••  336. 

(•Profi  ssor  Fiske—  "The  I  ><  -tiny  .'i  Man,"  page  111. 


SNOW-BEDS:   THE  USES  OF  ADVERSITY.       127 

alternations  of  heat  and  cold,  the  changes  of  the  seasons, 
a  fresher  and  more  bracing  air,  incite  man  to  a  constant 
struggle,  to  forethought,  to  the  vigorous  employment  of 
all  his  faculties.* 

Narrowing,  now,  the  sphere  of  our  application,  we  ob- 
serve that  it  is  good  for  man  to  bear  the  yoke  in  his 
youth. f  There  are  many  persons  prominent  to-day  in 
the  circles  of  human  activity  who  can  trace  back  their 
productive  power  in  society,  their  usefulness  among  their 
fellows,  the  growth  and  nurture  of  their  intellects  and 
abilities  into  those  proportions  which  have  given  them 
fame  and  made  them  a  blessing,  to  the  hard  apprentice- 
ship of  trial,  buffeting,  and  struggle  which  in  earlier  life 
disciplined  their  powers. 

Plants  reared  with  tenderness  are  seldom  strong ; 
Man's  coltish  disposition  needs  a  thong  ; 
And  without  discipline  the  foolish  child, 
Like  a  neglected  forester,  runs  wild.J 

Is  not  this  also  true  in  the  development  of  a  moral 
character,  or  a  spiritual  life?  Has  not  the  history  of  the 
Church  borne  testimony  time  and  again  to  the  truth  that 
persecution  has  been  a  purifier?  That  the  tempests 
which  have  beaten  upon  the  growing  plants  of  faith  have 
only  caused  them  to  root  themselves  more  firmly  and 
lay  faster  hold  upon  the  eternal  Rock  ?  That  the  winds 
of  trial  which  have  swept  the  face  of  Christendom  have 
only  borne  aloft  the  seeds  of  truth  as  a  summer  zephyr 
scatters  the  downy  seeds  of  the  dandelion,  and  have  scat- 
tered them  over  the  face  of  the  earth  to  find  lodging  and 
become  the  centres  of  a  new  and  better  life  ?  The  blood 
of  the  martyrs  has  ever  been  the  seed  of  the  Church! 

The  influence  of  trial  in  developing  the  spiritual 
character  of  the  sufferer  is  not  the  only  benefit  which  we 
may  discern.  Its  reflex  influence  upon  society  is  very 
great.  How  often  has  the  influence  of  an  invalid  in  the 
home  circle  caused  the  development  of  the  noblest  form 
of  manhood  and  the  sweetest  virtues  of  womanhood  in 
those   members  of  the  household  whose  thoughts  have 

*  Guyot — "  Earth  and  Man,"  page  269.     f  Lamentations  iii.  27. 
X  Cowper. 


128  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE, 

been  centred  upon  the  suffering  one !  What  has  done 
so  much  to  develop  the  true  Christian  character  of  men 
and  women  til  Christian  lands,  as  those  noble  institutions 
of  charity  provided  for  all  forms  of  suffering  humanity? 
Our  hospitals,  asylums,  homes,  institutions,  refuges,  re- 
treat-, orphanages,  and  societies  well-nigh  without  num- 
ber, are  among  the  most  beautiful  evidences  of  the  loving 
hearts  and  noble  instincts  of  our  people,  but  they  all 
have  their  growth  and  development  around  the  fact  of 
human  misery.  Self-denial,  compassion,  philanthropy, 
generosity,  charity — these  are  graces  most  lovely  to  be- 
hold, which  enfold  with  their  sweetest  charm  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  our  generation  and  our  faith.  But  how 
could  they  be — would  they  be? — were  it  not  for  those 
trials  on  the  part  of  their  fellow-creatures  which  have 
opened  up  the  fountains  of  sympathy  and  caused  those 
streams  to  gush  forth,  which  have  watered  the  garden  of 
the  heart,  and  made  it  bloom  with  heavenly  charity?  So 
far  then  as  man  himself  is  concerned,  it  seems  to  me  that 
it  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  all  objections  to  the  Divine  ad- 
ministration of  this  world  raised  from  the  standpoint  of 
human  misery,  to  say  that  suffering  is  a  discipline  of 
good;  that  sorrows  and  trials  are  but  the  snows  of 
winter  storms,  that  pack  the  fields  of  human  life,  pre- 
serving them  from  spiritual  sterility  and  the  binding 
frosts  of  selfishness  and  unbelief. 

II.  Our  second  lesson  from  the  Snow-Beds  is  simply 
an  outgrowth  of  our  first  thought,  namely,  the  Strength 
and  Beauty  of  1  (ome  Life. 

In  the  book  of  Proverbs  we  have  a  remarkable  poet- 
ical description  of  a  thrifty  and  virtuous  housewife, 
which  is  attributed  to  the  mother  ^\  Lemuel.  In  the 
course  of  the  poem  occurs  the  stanza: — 

Sin-  is  nol  afraid  of  the  snow  f<<r  her  household, 
all  In  r  household  are  clothed  with  scarli  i. ' 

In  other  words,  this  wise,  loving,  and  industrious 
woman  had  foreseen  the  time  of  the  snow,  and  provided 
againsl  its  rigors  the  warm  clothing  necessary  for  her 

*  Pruv.  xxxi.  21. 


SNOW-BEDS:   THE  USES  OE  ADVERSITY.       129 

family.  The  necessity  that  compelled  such  action  was 
largely  instrumental  in  calling  into  play  and  in  strength- 
ening the  home  virtues  here  celebrated.  Such  characters 
as  this  woman  are  most  common  in  lands  where  snow 
falls.  Winter  is  the  creator  of  home,  and  the  sweetest 
home-life  is  fostered  by  the  frosts  of  the  Northland. 
Home-life  grows  and  thrives  best  in  the  light  and 
warmth  of  the  fireside. 

"Announced  by  all  the  trumpets  of  the  sky, 
Arrives  the  snow  ;  and,  driving  o'er  the  fields 
Seems  nowhere  to  alight ;  the  whited  air 
Hides  hills  and  woods,  the  river  and  the  heaven 
And  veils  the  farm-house  at  the  garden's  end. 
The  sled  of  the  traveler  stopped,  the  courier's  feet 
Delayed,  all  friends  shut  out,  the  housemates  meet 
Around  the  radiant  fireplace,  enclosed 
In  a  tumultuous  privacy  of  storm."* 

This  "  tumultuous  privacy  of  storm,"  winter's  rio-or 
thus  brings  with  it  the  advantage  that  it  draws  menlnd 
women  m-doors,  fosters  home  life,  develops  home  vir- 
tues, throws  man  upon  his  inward  resources,  strength- 
ening his  intellectual  and  spiritual  life,  and  thus  develops 
nobler  characters  both  in  women  and  men.  I  believe  it 
may  be  asserted  that  the  strongest  and  loveliest  charac- 
ters, and  I  might  add  the  strongest  and  best  govern- 
ments, are  found  amongst  those  nations  who  have  the 
profoundest  insight  of  the  benefits  of  Home.  It  is  a 
matter  for  sincere  congratulation  that  American  men 
are  in  such  large  proportion  men  of  domestic  habits 
While  this  fact  remains  I  shall  not  despair  of  the  Re- 
public. The  brightest  spot  left  to  man,  since  Paradise 
was  lost  through  sin,  is  his  own  fireside.  At  the  hearth- 
stone which  glows  with  the  light  of  earthly  affection 
sanctified  by  a  Heavenly  Love,  there,  if  ever,  Paradise 
is  regained  on  earth. 

Let  us  count  it  then  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  inci- 
dental results  of  the  rigors  of  winter,  when  the  world  is 
made  inhospitable  by  the  beds  of  snow  lying  on  forest 
and  field,  that  men  are  driven  to  build  themselves  altars 
at  the  Fireside  of  Home. 

*  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 


a 


1 30  THE  G(  >SPEL  IN  NA  11  A7  . 

III.  We  arc  t<  >  can)-  our  lesson  still  further,  and 
learn  that  these  Life-Rigors  and  Trials,  of  which  the 
Snow-Beds  are  emblems,  prepare  us  for  and  open  the 
way  for  us  to  the  Heavenly  Home. 

Life  itself  will  bring  healing  to  main-  wounds  of  death, 
and  there  are  griefs  which  Time,  dropping  moment 
moments  into  the  scar,  will  cover  over,  as  the  snow-beds 
cover  the  fields.     Lowell  has  very  sweetly  uttered  this 
thought : — 

I  stood  and  watched  by  tin-  window 

The  noiseless  work  of  the  sky. 
And  the  sudden  flurries  of  snow-birds, 

Like  brown  leaves  whirling  by. 

I  thought  of  a  mound  in  sweet  Auburn-, 

Where  a  little  headstone  st<»>d  ; 
1  [<  .'.v  the  flakes  were  folding  it  gently, 

As  did  robins  the  babes  in  the  wood. 

Up  spoke  our  own  little  Mabel, 
Saying,  "Father,  who  makes  it  snow?" 

And'  1  told  of  the  good  all-Father, 
Who  cares  for  us  here  below. 

in  I  looked  at  the  snowfall, 
And  thought  of  the  leaden  sky 
That  arched  o'er  our  first  great  sorrow, 
When  that  mound  was  heaped  so  high. 

1  rem. -nil"  r.-d  the  gradual  patience 
That  fell  from  that  (loud  like  snow, 

Rake  by  flake,  healing  and  hiding 
The  scar  o!  our  deep-plunged  w< 

And  again  to  the  child  I  whispered, 

"  The  snow  that  husheth  all, 
I  darling,  the  merciful  Father 

Alone  can  make  it  fall  !"* 

But  there  are  wounds  which  life  and  time  cannot  heal; 
th.it  w  ill  not  be  hushi  d  ;  scars  that  cann<  »t  be  a  <\ 
ered  save  as   Heaven  casts  the  mantle  of   Divine  conso- 
lation thereon. 

king  form  which  snow-beds  take  is  that  of  the 

glacier.     This  is  the  nam.-  given  to  an  immense  mass  ol 
moving  snow  and  ice.     Tl  ier  is  in   fact  a  river  ol 

i(  .-,  w  In  is  the  -now  -,  that,  .summer  and  win- 

*j.v  ll—  "The  First  Snow-Fall." 


SNOW-BEDS:   THE  USES  OF  ADVERSITY.        131 

ter  alike,  fall  upon  lofty  mountain  summits.  In  process 
of  time  the  snow  becomes  hard-packed,  and  by  reason  of 
great  pressure  and  alternate  thawing  and  freezing  is  solid- 
ified, so  that  as  it  passes  gradually  into  the  valley,  it  goes 
down  as  a  rugged  river  of  frozen  snow  and  ice  held  within 
the  walls  of  mountain  gorges,  as  a  stream  of  water  runs 
between  its  banks. 

The  melting  of  the  ice  on  the  surface  of  the  glacier 
produces  streams  whose  course  is  often  broken  by  crev- 
asses, or  deep  cliffs,  down  which  the  water  descends,  and 
after  being  increased  by  like  rivulets,  it  issues  at  last  as 
a  stream,  or  creek,  or  river,  through  the  cavernous  mouth 
of  the  vault  at  the  termination  of  the  glacier.  Thus  these 
strange  phenomena  of  nature  have  their  origin  in  the  re- 
gion of  perpetual  snow,  and  reach  far  down  into  the  val- 
ley. That  of  Bossons,  which  comes  from  the  highest 
part  of  Mont  Blanc,  reaches  a  point  five  thousand  five 
hundred  feet  below  the  snow-line,  where  it  is  embosomed 
among  luxuriant  woods,  and' is  almost  in  contact  with 
the  wheat- fields  of  the  vale  of  Chamouni. 

A  curious  and  interesting  career  is  that  of  the  melted 
snow-flakes.  Born  high  up  amid  eternal  winter,  trick- 
ling down  through  the  crevasse  along  secret  springs 
and  channels  of  the  glacier,  issuing  at  last  immediately 
from  its  dark,  icy  vault  into  sunlight,  amid  the  fragrance 
of  flowers  and  sweet-smelling  hay-fields,  it  flows  forth 
among  human  habitations,  to  bless  and  beautify  the  gar- 
dens, meadows,  and  fields  of  men.  The  river  Arveiron  is 
born  of  the  Glacier  des  Bois.  Flower-decked  Chamouni 
— sweet  Chamouni,  whose  beauty  dwells  as  a  pleasing 
memory  in  the  mind  of  every  tourist  to  Switzerland — is 
a  creature  of  streams  of  snow-water  flowing  from  the  ice- 
bound channels  of  glaciers  of  the  Alps. 

As  it  is  here,  so  shall  it  be  Hereafter.  To  the  Chris- 
tian thought  the  uses  of  adversity  extend  beyond  the 
margin  of  this  life  and  enrich  for  us,  indeed  I  may  say, 
often  procure  for  us  the  life  of  the  eternal  world.  I  have 
read  a  story  of  a  chamois  hunter  of  the  Alps,  for  the 
truth  of  which  I  do  not  vouch,  and  whose  probability, 
indeed,  I  cannot  affirm.  I  only  know  that  it  points  the 
lesson  which  I  am  bringing  you  to-day.     The  hunter  in 


1 32  THE  Gi  >s /TJ.  IX  NA  Tl  kil. 

pursuit  of  his  wild  mountain  game  followed  to  the  upper 
regions  of  the  glacier.    In  the  intense  eagerness  of  chase 

he  was  careless  of  his  footing,  stepped  upon  false  ground 
and  slid  rapidly  down  the  mountain  over  the  edge  of  a 
deep  crevasse.  He  was  not  killed,  scarcely  more  than 
bruised.  But  as  he  slowly  recovered  and  looked  around 
him,  he  felt  that  he  had  fallen  upon  a  doom  worse  than 
outright  death.  Between  the  icy  walls  of  the  crevasse, 
rising  two  hundred  feet  or  more,  he  saw  far,  far  above 
him  the  blue  sky.  "This  must  be  my  icy  sepulchre!" 
he  cried.  In  despair  he  threw  himself  upon  his  knees 
and  prayed.  Now  he  noticed  the  little  crevasse  stream 
flowing  just  at  his  feet.  "I  will  follow  this,"  he  said. 
As  he  went  on  and  on,  the  stream  was  broadened  by  in- 
flowing rivulets,  until  at  last  it  emptied  into  a  wide  pool. 
I  nd  that  was  a  solid  wall  of  ice.  There  the  crevasse 
ended  !  All  avenue  of  escape  was  cut  off.  1  le  was  still 
entombed  within  that  icy  gorge. 

Is    it   a   hopeless    case?      X  .t   quite;   a    thought    had 
come  to  him,  that  there  was  one   possible — the    only 

ble  path  of  deliverance.  It  lay  through  the  swirl- 
ing waters  of  that  pool  !  "It  is  but  death,"  he  said, 
"  whether  I  stay  or  go.  I  will  make  the  venture  !"  1  f 
lifted  his  heart  to   Heaven  in   silent  prayer.     Then   he 

iside  his  knapsack  and  coat.     He  poised  himself  a 

moment   upon   the  brink   c\   the  pool,   whose   waters  as 

they  whirled  around  and  sank  out  1  I  that 

the   stream   must   issue   somewhere   beyond.     Then   he 

plunged    head    foremost    into  the   vortex.      TJiere  \ 

moment   of  darkness;  a    moment   of  chill;  a   chill    that 

struck  to  his  very  heart  as  he  was  sucl  n  into  the 

•  ••!.     flier.-  followed  a  moment  k(  un<  isness 

was  borne  swiftly  along  by  some  unseen  power, 

and  then — he  was  thrown  out  into  the  clear  vault  of  the 

tream,  and  borne  upon  th  Ms  waters 

into  the  fields  of  Chamouni !  The 

.  own   beautiful   valley  v.  und   him. 

I  I<-  v.  id  at  h<  I 

0  my  friends,  th  me,  may  soon  come  to 

Some  of  us,  when    we    shall  stand    0:1    the  brink   of  that 

dread  water  which  men  call   Death.     Let  us  belie\ 


SNOW-BEDS:   THE  USES  OF  ADVERSITY.        133 

it  is  the  voice  of  the  Master  who  assures  us,  that  be- 
yond its  vortex,  beyond  that  unknown  pathway  to  an 
Unseen  World,  there  shall  open  to  us  a  view  of  Hea- 
ven. The  dread  plunge;  the  icy  chill  that  strikes 
through  heart  and  flesh;  a  moment  of  unconsciousness, 
and  then,  then  in  a  brighter  vale  than  Chamouni,  where 
fragrant  flowers  immortal  bloom;  where  the  Tree  of 
Life  grows  evergreen  on  the  banks  of  the  River  of  Life  ; 
where  the  voice  of  friends  shall  greet  us,  and  never  again 
fade  from  our  hearing;  where  the  Summer  of  our  Soul 
shall  shine  in  beauty  sempervirent;  there,  in  Heaven, 
our  soul's  Eternal  Rest,  we  shall  dwell  forever  more  ! 

Haply  in  that  day  one  may  ask,  as  it  was  asked  of  St. 
John  of  old,  "These  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes, 
who  are  they,  and  whence  came  they?"  Then  shall  the 
answer  come  as  it  came  to  the  inspired  Apostle,  "  These 
are  they  which  came  out  of  the  great  tribulation,  and 
they  washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne 
of  God,  and  they  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  tem- 
ple."* 

*  Rev.  vii.,  14-15. 


LECTURE   VIII. 


Snow  -Whiteness : 
The  Glory  of  Christ. 

"  And  in  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks  one  like  unto 
the  Son  of  Man.  *****  And  his 
head  and  his  hair  were  white  as  white  wool,  white  as 
snow.^ — Revelation  i.  13,  14. 


SNOW- WHITENESS:    THE    GLORY   OF 
CHRIST. 


"  As  white  as  snow  "  is  a  proverb  as  old  as  the  days 
of  David  and  Isaiah.  What  produces  snow-whiteness  ? 
To  answer  the  question  you  may  be  reminded  that 
there  are  certain  colors  of  the  solar  spectrum  which,  when 
combined  in  due  proportion,  will  produce  white.  These 
are  red  and  green,  yellow  and  violet,  orange  and  blue; 
they  are  known  as  complementary  colors,  and  are  dis- 
tant from  each  other  half  the  length  of  the  spectrum. 
Now,  the  minute  snow-crystals  have  the  quality  pos- 
sessed by  other  crystals  of  reflecting  light,  and  the  com- 
bination of  the  different  prismatic  rays  issuing  from 
them  produces  the  white  color  so  familiar  to  us.  In 
other  words,  the  complementary  colors  reflected  in  due 
proportion  from  the  facets  of  the  crystals  appear  to  the 
eye  as  white.  In  the  more  technical  language  of  physi- 
cal science,  the  phenomenon  of  snow-whiteness  may  be 
explained  thus :  the  optical  severance  of  the  particles 
giving  rise  to  the  multitude  of  reflections  of  the  white 
solar  light  at  their  surfaces  produces  the  whiteness  of 
the  snow-crystals.* 

There  is  yet  another  element  that  enters  into  the  color 
of  snow;  viz.,  the  air.  If  they  be  examined  carefully  the 
individual  particles  of  snow  may  be  seen  as  transparent. 
In  the  case  of  transparent  bodies  whiteness  results  from 
the  mixture  of  the  particles  with  small  spaces  of  air.  The 
particles  of  glass  or  crystal  when  crushed  for  this  reason 
become  a  white  powder.  The  whiteness  of  paper  is  pro- 
duced by  the  composition  of  innumerable  fibres  which 
are  individually  transparent.  The  whiteness  of  ice  when 
it  is  chopped  or  broken,  and  which  you  have  often  ob- 

*  Tyndall — "  Forms  of  Water,  page  176." 

(137) 


i  ;  THE  GOSPEL  FN  NATURE. 

d  in  c<  >ntrast  with  the  clear  bluish  color  of  the  entire 
block,  is  caused  in  the  same  way.  Ice  formed  in  the 
freezing  machines,  which  are  so  common  in  many  of 
our  Southern  States,  is  usually  white,  a  fact  due  t<>  the 
air-bubbles  with  which  it  is  filled,  they  being  entangled 
by  the  rapid  process  of  congelation.  When  the  freez- 
ing of  water  is  extremely  slow  and  the  crystallizing 
force  pushes  the  air  effectually  aside,  the  resulting  ice 
is  transparent. 

This  is  the  explanation  presented  by  physicists  of  the 
beautiful  white  color  of  snow,  which  as  we  have  seen  is 
produced  separately  or  jointly  by  two  causes  ;  either, 
first,  the  reflection  of  white  solar  light  from  the  faces  of 
the  crystals,  or  second,  by.  the  admixture,  of  minute 
bubbles  of  air  with  the  particles  of  snow.  Why  the  snow 
crystals  possess  this  quality  we  cannot  say  further  than 
that  so  they  were  constituted  by  the  Creator,  who  saith 
to  the  snow — "  Be  thou  on  the  earth  !"  and  whose  sover- 
eign power  bestowed  upon  them,  as  upon  all  things  else, 
their  natural  characteristics.  We  pass  n<>w  from  this 
explanation  of  the  phenomenon  of  Snow- Whiteness  to 
consider  the  lessons  which  Holy  Scripture  teaches  us 
under  tin:  figure  of  that  phenomenon. 

I.  The  Snow-Whiteness  teaches  us  the  Divine  Nature 
and  Authority  ofc      1    >rd  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  symbolism  of  the  Scriptures,  which  is  lai 
in  sympathy  with  the  ideas  of  all  ancient  races,  and  in- 
deed I  may  say  of  all  mankind,  white  is  used  to  express 
various  ideas,  as  innocence,  purity,  victory,  and  joy.  Of 
these  we  shall  have  something  to  say  in  our  next  lecture. 
To-day  we  are  to  consider  whiteness  as  the  symb 
Glory  and  Majesty.  It  is  the  color  that  expresses  above 
all  others  the  idea  of  Deity,  and  no  doubt  this  is  s,  ■  be- 
lt is  the  color  of  light.  There  i.m  be  no  more  fit- 
ting natural  emblem  of  the  Divine  glory  than  the  sun; 
hence,  by  a  perversion  of  judgment  and  feeling  which 
mails  the  religious    history  of  the   rare,  the  sun  itselt 

en  a  favorite  object  of  worship.  In  tin-  old  '1 
ment  the  most  majestic  pictures  of  the  Almighty  ai 
sociated  with  the  color  of  light.     God  is  represented  as 


SNO  W-  WHITENESS:  THE  GLOR  Y OF  CHRIST.     1 39 

covering  himself  with  light  as  with  a  garment.*  In  the 
glowing  imagery  of  Habbakuk  Jehovah  is  compared  to 
the  rising  sun  within  whose  rays  His  omnipotence  is  en- 
vironed. 

3  His  splendor  covered  the  heavens, 
And  the  earth  was  full  of  His  glory ; 

4  And  brightness  arose  like  sunlight, 

He  hadVays  coming  forth  from  His  sides, 
And  there  was  the  hiding  of  His  power. f 

For  the  origin  of  the  imagery  used  by  St.  John  in 
our  text,  we  must  doubtless  go  back  to  the  book  of 
Daniel. I  The  prophet  Daniel  beholds  seated  in  the 
midst  of  the  prostrate  thrones  of  world  powers,  "  One 
that  was  Ancient  of  days.  His  raiment  was  white  as 
snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head  like  pure  wool.  His 
throne  was  fiery  flames,  and  the  wheels  thereof  burning 
fire." 

The  entire  imagery  of  this  visional  Figure  is  intended 
to  impress  the  mind  with  the  sense  of  Divine  Majesty. 
The  patriarchal  age,  the  wool-white  hairs,  the  snow- 
white  raiment,  the  environment  of  light,  all  these  in  the 
well-understood  figures  of  oriental  thought  and  speech 
depict  One  who  without  doubt  must  be  recognized  as 
the  Eternal  God. 

We  take  another  step  in  developing  the  meaning  of 
snow-whiteness  as  applied  to  the  Christ.  A  year  before 
his  death,  our  Lord  Jesus  retired  with  three  of  his  disci- 
ples to  one  of  the  spurs  of  Mount  Hermon  and  was  there 
"  transfigured  "  before  them.  On  this  occasion,  Matthew 
records  that  our  Saviour's  "  face  did  shine  as  the  sun, 
and  his  raiment  was  white  as  light.§  St.  Mark,  that 
"  His  garment  became  glistening,  exceeding  white,  so  as 
no  fuller  on  earth  can  whiten  them."||  The  record  of  St. 
Luke  is  that  the  "  fashion  of  his  countenance  was  altered, 
and  his  raiment  became  white  and  dazzling."Tf  This  pe- 
culiar appearance  of  our  Saviour's  person  is  associated 
with  a  corresponding  appearance  of  the  heavenly  visitors 

*  Psalm  civ.  2.  f  Hab.  iii.  3,  4,  R,  V.,  and  Keil  and  Delitzsch, 
in  he.  %  Daniel  vii.  9.  \  Matthew  xvii.  2.  ||  Mark  ix.  3.  \  Luke 
ix.  29. 


140  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

and  Elias,  who,  we  arc  told  by  St.   Luke,  "ap- 
'1  in  glory;"  and  also  of  the  overshadowing  cloud 
out  of  which  the  Eternal  Father  spoke,  which   is  des- 
cribed by  Matthew  as  "  a  bright  cloud."     St.  Peter  speaks 

of  it  as  "  the  excellent  glory." 

These  are  the  external  or  symbolic  associations  of  the 
event.  The  spiritual  significance  of  it  we  may  readily 
learn  from  the  impression  which  was  made  upon  the 
minds  of  at  least  two  of  its  witnesses.  Says  John,  "We 
beheld  his  Glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father."* 
Says  Peter,  "  We  were  eye  witnesses  of  his  Majesty  \\  hen 
we  were  with  him  in  the  hoi}-  mount."  f  It  is  doubtless 
chiefly  from  this  standpoint  that  we  must  review  the 
whole  event,  remembering  also  its  relations  to  the  pre- 
ceding announcement  of  the  crucifixion.  We  may  think 
of  the  dazzling  whiteness  of  our  Lord's  outward  ap- 
pearance as  the  result  and  manifestation  of  the  glory 
of  his  Divine  Nature,  which  was  commonly  restrained 
within  usual  human  semblance,  but  then  burst  forth 
and  illuminated  not  only  his  body,  but  his  clothing 
and  all  surrounding  objects.  There  is  no  ground  to 
think  that  this  bodily  illumination  was  .1  reflection  of  the 
glory  surrounding  Moses  and  Elias,  for  it  was  Christ's 
"own  glory"  which  chiefly  attracted  the  apostl 
and  the  bright  cloud  did  not  appear  until  after  the  trans- 
figuration. 

It  was  needful  that  the  disciples  should  have  this  man- 
ifestation of  the  glorious  Majesty  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  so  that  amid  the  humiliation-,  of  his  human  life 
and  approaching  death  they  should  nol  forget  that  He 
was  indeed  the  Son  of  the  Highest.  The  theme  of  con- 
versation between  those  exalted  delej  [ates  from  the  spirit 
world,  Moses  the  giver  of  the  Law  and  Elijah  the  re- 
storer of  Prophecy,  and  Jesus  Christ  himself  in  whom 
Law  and  Prophecy  were  fulfilled,  was,  we  are  told,  the 
.  ,f  Jesus,  G      k   expresses   it,  "  The 

exodus"  or  departure  of  him   which  he  was  about  to 
mplish  at   Jerusalem.?     Thus  the  re  led 

ociate  the   Heavenly  Glory  with  the  earthly  hu- 


•  John  i.  11.     i  II.  Peter  i.  16  >v       Luke  ix.  \%.       1  uke  i 


SNO  W-  WHITENESS :  THE  GL  OR  Y  OF  CHRIS  T.     1 4 1 

miliation,  the  Conquering  with  the  suffering  Messiah. 
Henceforth  the  glory  of  the  cross  would  quench  its 
shame,  and  the  doubting  disciples  learn  the  exaltation  of 
the  one  great  theme  of  their  future  ministry.  Thus  we 
are  led  through  the  significance  of  the  snow-whiteness 
of  our  Saviour's  person  on  the  Transfiguration  Mount 
to  the  lesson  of  his  Divine  Majesty,  his  heavenly  and 
earthly  Glory. 

We  come  now  to  that  emblem  from  which  we  have  our 
text,  namely,  the  vision  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  the  midst 
of  the  seven  golden  candlesticks.  He  is  represented 
as  clothed  with  the  long  "  talar"  or  garment  of  the  High 
Priest  which  reached  down  to  the  feet.  After  the  man- 
ner of  high  priests  and  kings  he  was  girt  about  the 
breast  with  the  golden  girdle.  "  His  head  and  his  hair 
were  white  as  white  wool,  white  as  snow;  his  eyes  were 
as  a  flame  of  fire;  his  feet  like  unto  a  stream  of  molten 
metal  as  it  had  been  glowing  in  a  furnace;*  and  his 
countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength.""}" 

This  visional  image  with  his  venerable  head  and 
snow-white  hairs,  presents  to  us  an  object  of  reverent 
honor.  The  white  hairs  as  the  symbol  of  old  age  would 
alone  have  taught  this  lesson.  Veneration  of  age  was  a 
part  of  the  Jewish  religion,  and  one  of  the  most  binding 
duties  of  ancient  social  life.  "Thou  shalt  rise  up  before 
the  hoary  head,  and  honor  the  face  of  the  old  man,  and 
fear  thy  God :  I  am  the  Lord,"  said  the  law  of  Leviticus.| 
Again,  the  proverb  says  :  §  "  The  hoary  head  is  a  crown 
of  glory,  if  it  be  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness."  It 
is  in  the  spirit  of  this  law  and  custom  that  St.  John  must 
have  seen  among  the  candlesticks  One  before  whom  he 
should  rise  up  in  worship  as  in  the  presence  of  the  most 
venerated  Patriarch  and  Ruler. 

I  might  venture  to  plead  the  spirit  of  our  modern 
customs  also  as  pointing  the  same  lesson.  I  know  that 
it  is  often  said,  "  Ah  !  our  young  people  do  not  honor  the 
aged  as  they  used  to  do."  Perhaps  there  is  ground  in 
some  quarters  for  the  charge,  but  I  cannot  think  it  true 
of  the  majority  of  the  young  men   and  women  of  this 

*  Lange.     f  Rev.  i.  14,  15.     %  Lev.  xix.  32.     \  Prov.  xvi.  31. 


142  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

generation.  There  were  not  wanting  in  ancient  time 
those  who  violated  law  and  custom  in  this  regard.  Such 
were  the  young  men  who  publicly  jeered  Elisha,  follow- 
ing him  with  the  cry,  "Go  up,  thou  bald-head!"  :  Such 
1  Leh<  tboam,  who  despised  the  counsel  of  the  old  men 
and  allied  himself  with  the  young  men  of  his  court. t 
This  irreverent  generation  has  its  succession  still  on 
earth  ;  but  of  most  of  our  youth  I  believe  it  may  be  said 
th.it  reverence  for  the  aged  is  a  strong  sentiment  within 
their  hearts. 

Perhaps  the  aged  are  not  careful  enough  to  strengthen 
and  compel  this  following;  perhaps  the}- are  too  ready, 
in  our  land  at  least,  t<>  retire  from  the  scene  of  duty  and 
activity;  perhaps  they  have  not  enough  confidence  in  the 
willingness  of  young  men  to  follow  them.  If  so,  they 
surely  err.  Age  does  not  disqualify  for  leadership  any 
more  than  youth.  The  leaders  of  the  great  movements 
of  Scripture  were  many  of  them  aged  men,  as  Abraham, 
Moses,  and  Joshua.  We  may  even  include  Jacob,  the 
old  wanderer,  "  the  Hebrew  Ulysses,"  as  Dean  Stanley 
has  called  him, \  who  led  his  people  into  Egypt  at  his 
new  call  to  a  new  migration,  with  new  trials  and  a  new 
glory  before  him. 

"  Something  ere  the  end. 

S<  'in--  wi  »rk  of  noble  note  may  yet  be  done  , 
'Tis  not  too  lah-  to  seek  a  newer  world, 
Made  weak  by  time  and  fate,  but  Strong  in  will — 
T<>  strive,  to  seek,  to  find,  and  no;  to  yield." 

Were  our  aged  Christians  and  citizens  to  take  the 
place,  duty,  and  leadership  which  their  years  allow,  ami 
summon  theyourig  men  of  this  land,  like  those  of  Europe 
who  so  ardently  have  followed  the  aged  Premiers  Dis- 
raeli, Gladstone,  and  Bismarck,  1  believe  that  they  also 
would  be  found  following  the  white  hails  of  age  into  the 
thickest  conflict  against  all   evil,  even   as   the  Huguenots 

at  [vry  rallied  to  the  white-plumed  helmet  (A  Henry  of 
Navarre.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  manifest  that  there  i^ 
much   in  every  civilized   society  which   responds  to  the 

II    Kin-,  ii.  j;.     j  I.  Kings  xi.   i.j.    (Jewish  Church,  vol.  1., 
page 


SNO  W-  WHITENESS:  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST.      1 43 

Scripture  laws  and  customs  upon  which  is  based  the  sym- 
bolic teaching  now  before  us,  namely,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  an  object  of  reverence.  He  is  to  be  honored  as 
the  Ancient  of  days,  the  Venerable,  the  Patriarch,  the 
Ruler,  the  Lord. 

But  it  is  something  more  than  the  aspect  of  antiquity 
that  we  must  consider  in  the  drapery  of  this  image 
among  the  candlesticks.  The  majestic  Being  of  John's 
vision  is  clothed  with  all  the  symbolic  drapery  with 
which  the  prophets  associated  Jehovah.  One  who  will 
read  the  description  of  the  Almighty  as  presented  in 
Daniel's  vision  side  by  side  with  this  image  of  John's 
Revelation  will  be  led  inevitably  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  same  attributes  of  Divine  Majesty  and  Glory  attri- 
buted by  the  prophet  to  the  One  Being,  are  by  the  apostle 
attributed  to  the  Other.  It  is  not  within  the  bounds  of 
sober  thought  that  John,  himself  a  Jew,  educated  in  the 
strictest  sect  of  Israel  and  associated  intimately  with  the 
most  zealous  adherents  and  loftiest  representatives  of  his 
faith,  would  have  clothed  Jesus  Christ  with  the  accepted 
Scriptural  symbols  of  the  Divine  Nature  were  he  not  en- 
tirely convinced  that  Jesus  Christ  is  indeed  Divine.  So 
that,  resting  upon  Scriptural  symbolism  alone,  we  are  led 
to  the  conclusion  which  is  held  by  the  well-nigh  Univer- 
sal Church  of  Christ,  that  Jesus  is  the  Second  Person  of 
the  adorable  Trinity,  is  possessed  of  Divine  glory,  and  is 
to  receive  worship  and  service  as  such. 

In  the  well-known  admirable  answer  of  the  Westmin- 
ster Shorter  Catechism  to  the  question  "What  is  God?" 
He  is  declared  to  be  infinite,  eternal,  and  unchangeable 
in  seven  attributes.  Those  attributes  are  the  Divine 
Being,  Wisdom,  Power,  Holiness,  Justice,  Goodness,  and 
Truth.  Light  is  composed  of  seven  primary  colors,  red, 
orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  indigo,  and  violet.  Let  us 
imagine  every  one  of  the  seven  branches  of  the  great 
candlestick  of  St.  John's  vision  to  shed  forth  one  of  these 
seven  colors;  and  further,  think  of  each  color  as  typical 
of  one  of  the  seven  Divine  attributes.*  What,  then,  shall 
we  see?     The  seven  colors  combine  and  in  due  propor- 

*  McCook — "Object  and  Outline  Teaching,"  page  262. 


144  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

tion  form  the  white  solar  ray.  The  Visional  Image  in 
their  midst  is  bathed  in  white  light.  Light?  Yes!  It 
is  the  color  of  the  Deity.  The  divine  attributes  are 
blended  upon  One  Being.  That  Being  is  the  Christ ; 
those  blended  rays  give  forth  Love,  the  sum  of  all  the  at- 
tributes of  God  !  Behold  the  man!  Behold  the  God! 
"  Herein  is  Love  ! "  This  is  "  the  true  Light  which  light- 
eth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."* 

2.  We  turn  now  from  the  testimony  of  Scriptural 
symbolism  to  examine  for  a  few  moments  other  lines 
of  evidence  which  assert  the  Divine  Majesty  of  Christ. 
Let  us  consider  the  Personal  Testimony  of  Christ's  Dis- 
ciples. 

Said  Jesus  to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  "  Salvation  is  of 
the  Jews/'t  The  saying  covers  more  than  at  first 
thought  appears.  Ewald  has  reminded  us  that  the 
student  of  history  has  observed  in  the  various  nations 
of  antiquity,  strong,  special  tendencies  toward  which 
the  national  efforts  constantly  pointed.  A  grand  ambi- 
tion towered  over  all  common  aims  and  necessities. 
Amid  prosperity  and  adversity  it  was  pursued  with  a 
constancy  fixed  enough  to  leave  its  mark  upon  the 
national  remains.  With  the  Egyptians  this  aim  was 
the  grandeur  of  architecture  and  the  perfection  of  civil- 
ization. With  the  Phoenicians  it  was  commerce  and 
navigation.  With  the  Roman  it  was  the  perfect  code  of 
law.  With  the  Greek  the  perfect  art  and  literature. 
With  the  Jew  it  was  the  perfect  religion. % 

Much  as  the  Hebrew  attained  in  other,  indeed  in  all 
branches  of  human  improvement,  upon  this  the  noblest 
of  all  aims  his  highest  endeavors  were  fixed.  Through 
man}' centuries  of  varied  national  fortunes  he  wavered 
not  from  his  lofty  purpose.  The  promise  of  his  God  to 
"send  to  him  a  Saviour  and  a  Great  One  "§  shone  before 
him  like  the  north  star  to  the  ancient  mariner.  His 
course  across  the  ages  was  lighted  and  guided  therein-. 
And  God  was  with  him.     Heaven  bent  down  to  meet 


*John  i.  9.    tjohn  iv.  22.     [Ewald     "History  of  Israel,"  I., 
i saiah  xix.  2<>. 


SJVO IV-  WHITENESS:  THE  GLOR  Y  OF  CHRIST      145 

the  aspirations  of  his  heart,  and  fill  with  the  coveted 
prize  the  hands  that  had  reached  out  unweariedly  for  it 
through  years  that  had  grown  into  millenniums. 

In  Jesus  Christ  the  high  hopes  and  aims  of  Israel  cul- 
minated. The  rose  of  Sharon  was  the  perfect  bloom  upon 
the  stem  of  Jesse.  With  Jesus  the  great  salvation  came. 
With  Jesus  it  was  complete.  Israel  had  wrought  out 
her  national  destiny  and  so  passed  away.  Though  as  a 
people  she  rejected  the  true  Christ,  yet  multitudes  of 
her  best  sons  and  daughters  embraced  the  perfect  faith. 
Thenceforth  as  the  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest  and  casts 
her  young  upon  the  wind  that  they  may  learn  the  eagle's 
flight,*  these  Christian  Israelites  were  sent  forth  of  God 
to  carry  upon  all  the  surface  of  the  earth  their  holy 
possession.  They  invariably  bore  witness  to  the  glory 
of  Jesus,  a  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  from  the 
Father,f  the  true  Messiah  of  Israel. 

Most  of  them  had  known  him  from  childhood.  They 
were  companions  and  friends  of  his  entire  public  ministry; 
his  private  life,  his  secret  thoughts,  his  character,  aims,' 
motives,  were  uncovered  before  them.  What  a  record  is 
that  which  they  left  us!  Let  us  seek  to  condense  it  with- 
in a  few  sentences.  To  his  disciples  Jesus  was  the  incar- 
nation of  knowledge,  loveliness,  and  truth.  He  knew  all 
things,  even  the  thoughts  of  men,t  for  he  had  learned 
the  secret  of  eternity  as  he  lay  in  the  Father's  bosom,  his 
only  begotten  Son.§  He  was  full  of  grace  and  truth,  the 
true  vine,||  the  pearl  of  great  price,  the  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  bright  and  morning  Star.!  The  apostles  looked  upon 
the  heavens  above,  the  earth  and  seas  beneath,  and  they 
saw  in  these  creative  wonders  the  work  of  their  Master's 
hand.  All  things  were  made  by  him;  without  him  was 
not  anything  made  which  was  made  ;**  by  him  they  were 
and  for  him  they  were  created.ff 

In  those  disciples'  thoughts  all  history  hinged  upon 
the  glory  of  Jesus.  His  will  was  the  spring  of  Provi- 
dence.ll  The  stormy  flood  grew  calm  at  his  word.§§  The 
food  of  multitudes  multiplied  in  his  hand.  ||  ||       Devils 

*Deut.  xxxii.  11.  fjohn  i.  14.  J  Matt.  xii.  25.  $John  i.  18. 
||  John  xvi  f  Rev.  xx.  13,  16.  **John  i.  3.  ft  Col.  i.  16.  JJJohn 
xw.  14.     \\  Mark  iv  39.     ||  ||  Luke  ix.  13. 


146  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

trembled  in  his  presence.*  Legions  of  angels  awaited 
his  pleasure. f  Disease  in  her  hundred-fold  horrors  re- 
signed her  hold  upon  poor  humanity  at  his  touch. £  His 
voice  shattered  the  sceptre  of  death, §  shot  back  bolts  of 
the  grave,  and  summoned  forth  the  dead  into  the  world 
of  life.ll 

In  gentleness,  sympathy,  and  meekness  he  passed  the 
tenderness  of  woman.  Yet  in  courage  he  shamed  the  bold- 
est of  his  disciples,  and  stood  calm,  undaunted,  a  king  of 
men  alone  in  the  face  and  power  of  crudest  foes.^f 

His  words  were  savory  in  the  ears  of  the  common 
people,  who  heard  him  gladly  ;  **  yet  the  keenest 
intellects,  the  most  learned  and  cultured  minds  of  the 
profoundest  nation  of  antiquity,  quailed  and  failed  before 
the  might  of  his  genius.ft  Rulers  of  Israel  sought  his 
counsel,  and  acknowledged  him  a  teacher  come  from 
God;JJ  yet  he  loved  the  prattle  and  simplicity  of  little 
children,  whom  he  blessed  and  held  in  his  arms.§§ 

Great  as  he  was  in  life,  in  death  he  was  greater  still. 
He  died  for  the  truth  that  he  gave ;  he  died  for  the 
world  that  he  loved.  He  paused  in  the  awful  agony  of 
the  cross  to  give  hope  to  other  breaking  hearts,  triumph- 
ing thus  over  self — most  worthy  of  victories! — amid  the 
torments  of  pain.  On  the  one  hand  he  turned  to  win  an 
unknown  dying  thief  to  God  ;||  ||  on  the  other  to  commend 
his  mother  to  the  care  of  a  faithful  friend. \\  Yes,  more 
than  that,  amid  the  jeers  of  his  persecutors  and  execu- 
tioners, he  raised  his  voice  to  Heaven,  and  spent  his  dying 
strength  in  prayer  for  them  :  "  Father,  forgive  them,  they 
know  not  what  they  do."***  Well  might  the  sceptic 
Rousseau  exclaim  in  view  of  this:  "If  the  life  and 
death  of  Socrates  were  those  of  a  sage,  the  life  and 
death  of  Jesus  were  those  of  a  God." 

There  were  no  terms  of  too  exalted  use  for  these  dis- 
ciples to  apply  to  Christ.  The  high  priest  of  Israel  was 
the  sacred  head  of  her  religious,  and  often  of  her  secu- 
lar affairs.      lie  was  revered  above  all  other  men.     Yet 

Matt.  viii.  31.     ;  Matt.  xxvi.  53.     1  Mark  i.  34.     \  Luke  vii.  12. 
|ohn  \i.  43.     '  fohnxviii.  37.     *'  Mark  xii.  37.     ft  Matt.  xxii.  46. 

in  iii.  2.    \  \  .Mark  x.  16.    ||  ||  Luke  xxiv.  13.    * '  John  xix.  26. 

***  Luke  xxiii.  3  \. 


SNO IV-  WHITENESS:  THE  GL OR  Y  OE  CHRIST.      1 47 

Jesus  is  to  his  inspired  biographers  the  Great  High  Priest 
of  men,  greater  even  than  he  of  the  Aaronic  priesthood, 
a  high  priest  forever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec* 
He  has  power  to  forgive  sins,  as  God ;  he  is  Prophet,f 
he  is  exalted  to  be  a  Prince,  he  is  King;  he  is  Master, 
he  is  Lord  even  of  the  Sabbath ;  %  he  is  the  anointed  of 
God,  the  Messiah  of  his  people,  he  is  Redeemer,  Saviour, 
the  Foundation  of  the  church  ;§  with  him  is  the  Power 
of  God; ||  he  is  the  Word  of  God,  yea,  culmination  of 
all  titles  of  greatness,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  GOD!"^[ 
Angels  worship  him.  Through  the  doors  of  heaven 
the  prophet  of  the  Revelation  sees  Jesus  of  Nazareth  on 
the  Throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  the  centre  of  all 
praise  that  rises  from  the  holy  intelligences  of  Heaven 
and  the  Universe  of  the  Almighty.**  Words  can  go  no 
further  in  laying  the  mantle  of  greatness  upon  any 
being  than  the  apostle's  words  have  gone  in  crowning 
Christ  Jesus  Lord  of  All !  f  t 

3.  Shall  we  appeal  the  question  of  Christ's  greatness 
to  the  judgment  of  great  minds?  What  a  library  of  tes- 
timonies might  one  compile,  all  drawn  from  the  greatest 
or  the  best  of  men !  Let  me  recite  but  two,  perhaps 
among  the  most  impartial.  The  first  is  the  noble  eulogy 
of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  "  Everything  in  Christ  aston- 
ishes me.  His  Spirit  overcomes  me,  and  his  will  con- 
founds me.  His  ideas  and  his  sentiments,  the  truths 
which  he  announces,  his  manner  of  convincing"  are  not 
explained,  either  by  human  observation  or  the  nature  of 
things.  His  birth  and  the  history  of  his  life;  the  pro- 
fundity of  his  doctrine,  which  grapples  the  mightiest 
difficulties,  and  which  is  of  those  difficulties  the  most  ad- 
mirable solution;  his  gospel ;  his  apparition ;  his  empire; 
his  march  across  the  ages  and  the  realms  ;  everything  is 
to  me  a  prodigy,  a  mystery  insoluble,  which  plunges  me 
into  a  revery  from  which  I  cannot  escape — a  mystery 
which  is  there  before  my  eyes,  a  mystery  which  I  can 

*  Heb.  v.  10.      f  Matt.  ix.  6.      J  Luke  vi.  5.      §1.  Cor.  iii.   11. 
||  I.  Cor.  i.  24.     \  John  i.  1.     **  Rev.  v.  12.     ft  Acts  x.  36. 


148  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

neither  deny  nor  explain.  Here  I  see  nothing  human. 
Everything  is  above  me.  Everything  remains  grand — 
of  the  Grandeur  which  overpowers.  His  religion  is  a 
revelation  from  an  Intelligence  which  certainly  is  not  that 
of  man." 

The  other  testimony  which  I  present  is  that  of  the 
French  Rationalist  Renan,  who  seeks  to  account  for  the 
phenomena  of  Christ  and  Christianity  on  simple  historic 
and  natural  principles,  and  who  views  Jesus  Christ  as  a 
human  force  alone.  He  says:  "Jesus  is  that  individual 
who  has  caused  his  species  to  make  the  greatest  advance 
toward  the  Divine.  Humanity  as  a  whole  presents  an 
assemblage  of  beings  low,  selfish,  superior  to  the  animal 
only  in  this  that  their  selfishness  is  more  premeditated. 
But  in  the  midst  of  this  uniform  vulgarity,  pillars  rise 
towards  heaven  and  attest  a  more  noble  destiny.  Jesus 
is  the  highest  of  these  pillars  which  show  to  man  whence 
he  came  and  whither  he  should  tend.  In  him  is  con- 
densed all  that  is  good  and  lofty  in  our  nature.  * 
Whatever  may  be  the  surprises  of  the  future,  Jesus  will 
never  be  surpassed.  His  worship  will  grow  young  with- 
out ceasing;  his  legend  will  call  forth  tears  without  end  ; 
his  sufferings  will  melt  the  noblest  heart;  all  ages  will 
proclaim  that  among  the  sons  of  men  there  is  none  born 
greater  than  Jesus."* 

Nor  has  this  testimony  waxed  weak  or  narrowed  the 
circle  of  witnesses  as  the  ages  have  receded  from  Gol- 
gotha. The  greatest  men  and  women  of  the  world  in 
the  past  have  called,  and  the  greatest  men  of  to-day  do 
call  Jesus  of  Nazareth  Lord.  The  prophecy  is  fulfilled. 
God  hath  given  him  the  nations  for  an  inheritance.  Over 
millions  of  the  earth's  noblest  sons  and  daughters,  Jesus 
docs  reign 

"  Where'er  the  sun 
Dotli  his  successive  journeys  run  !" 

4.  Shall  we  try  the  greatness  of  Jesus  by  the  results 
of  his  life?  To  the  mind  of  most  men  success  is  the 
standard  of  greatness.  What  has  one  done?  What 
are  the  fruits  of  his  life?     We  need  not  fear  this  test  in 

*  Renan — "  Life  of  Christ,"  pages  375-6. 


SNO  W-  WHITENESS:  THE  GLOR  Y  OF  CHRIST.     149 

the  case  of  Jesus  ;  He  himself  challenged  it  when  he 
said  :  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them.*  Do  men 
gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles?"  Once  it  was 
a  prophetic  metaphor,  but  now  it  is  a  historic  fact  that 
the  Christ  of  God  is  the  Dayspring  from  on  high  !t 
The  cross  and  sepulchre  have  been  the  rising  points  of 
an  influence  that  has  been  to  the  world  a  veritable  Sun 
of  Righteousness  with  healing  in  its  wings.!  From  these 
as  from  a  focal  point,  rays,  beams,  floods,  seas  of  light 
have  swept  over  all  ages  in  an  ever-expanding  way, 
bright  with  comfort  and  eternal  hope.  Education  has 
arisen  along  this  path.  Star-eyed  Science  has  lifted  up 
her  head  to  scan  and  note  the  works  of  heaven,  earth 
and  sea.  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love  have  spread  their 
pinions  above  the  sorrowing,  bringing  shelter,  nurture, 
and  cheer.  Christ  gave  to  man  a  new  word — Charity' 
and  that  one  word  has  transformed  society.  He  eman- 
cipated and  exalted  woman;  he  redeemed  childhood, 
theretofore  undervalued  and  oppressed,  and  set  upon  it  a 
price  beyond  the  gold   of  Ophir.     In  short,  he  created 

the  highest  civilization   that  humanity    has  attained 

the  civilization  of  Christianity.  He  imposed  a  code  of 
morals  that  is  faultless.  He  established  principles  of 
honor,  justice,  kindliness,  peace,  industry,  self-denial 
that  have  become  the  bulwarks  of  nations,  the  vital  ele- 
ments of  the  very  race. 

II.  We  must  not  forget  that  the  Glory  of  the  Christ 
is  associated  with  His  human  life  and  office.  Our  last 
thought,  therefore,  will  present  as  an  element  in  that 
Glory  His  Faithfulness  as  the  Messenger  of  Divine  Love 
and  the  Friend  of  sinners. 

One  of  the  Scriptural  lessons  taught  under  the  im- 
agery of  snow  is  faithfulness  in  message-bearing.  Says 
the  Proverbialist,§ 

"As  the  cold  of  snow  in  the  time  of  harvest, 
So  is  the  faithful  messenger  to  them  that  sent  him  ; 
For  he  refresheth  the  soul  of  his  masters." 


*  Matthew  vii.    16.      f  Luke  i.   79.      J  Mai.   iv.   2.      2  Proverbs 
xxv.   13. 


1 50  THE  GOSPEL  IN  X.  1  TLA-/:. 

One  who  reads  this  passage  without  knowing  the  cus-„ 
toms  of  the  people  of  Holy  Land  would  be  greatly 
puzzled  to  understand  how  snow  could  fall  in  summer 
time  or  harvest;  or  if  such  should  occur,  as  possibly  it 
might,*  how  it  could  be  regarded  as  in  any  sense  re- 
freshing. However,  we  have  only  to  carry  our  thoughts 
to  the  heated  days  of  our  own  summertide,  and  the  re- 
freshing draughts  of  ice  water  or  iced  lemonade,  to  have 
a  natural  and  sufficient  explanation  of  the  proverb.  In 
point  of  fact  the  ancient  Israelites  appear  to  have  under- 
stood quite  as  well  as  ourselves  the  mode  of  tempering 
the  heats  of  summer  by  the  preserved  frosts  of  a  winter 
region.  Even  to-day  we  are  told  that  at  Damascus 
snow  procured  from  Anti-Lebanon  is  kept  for  sale  in 
the  bazaars  in  the  hot  months,  and  being  mixed  with 
the  juice  of  pomegranates  forms  a  favorite  beverage. 
In  the  heat  of  the  day,  says  a  modern  traveler,  the  Jews 
in  northern  Galilee  offered  us  water  cooled  with  snow 
from  Jebelesh Sheik,  the  modern  Mount  Hermon.f  This 
mountain  is  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  and  the  top  is  partially  covered  with  snow,  or  rather 
ice,  during  the  whole  year,  which,  however,  lies  only  in 
the  ravines,  and  thus  presents  at  a  distance  the  appear- 
ance of  radiant  stripes  around  and  below  the  summit.^ 
Nature  has  thus  made  a  large  provision  of  material  to 
be  used  in  the  manner  suggested  by  the  Proverbialist. 
Countless  loads  of  snow,  says  another  traveler,  are 
brought  down  to  Beirut  from  the  sides  of  Sannin,  one 
of  the  highest  peaks  of  Lebanon,  to  freshen  the  water, 
otherwise  hardly  fit  to  drink.  The  practical  use  of  snow 
in  this  manner  existed  also  among  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.§ 

We  shall  not  be  misunderstood  nor,  we  are  certain, 
shall  we  belittle  the  Glorious  Majesty  of  Him  whom  we 
1:  to  serve,  if  we  apply  the  central  lesson  of  this  pro- 
verb to  our  blessed  Lord  himself.  It  is  indeed  a  part  of 
his  glory  that  he  has  placed  himself  in  our  stead,  that 
he  has  humbled  himself  to   our   position,  and   become   a 

e  Proverbs  xxvi.  1.     |*Wilson—" Lands  of  the  Bible,"  II., 
Vol.   II.,  437-      I  Smith's   Bible 
Di<  tionary. 


SNOW-WHITENESS:  THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST.      15  I 

veritable  Messenger  to  us.  "  The  Son  of  Man  is  come 
not  to  be  ministered  to,  but  to  minister.* 

In  the  first  chapter  of  the  Revelation  in  close  connec- 
tion with  the  image  amidst  the  candlesticks  we  read 
the  assertion  of  St.  John  that  his  message  is  "  From 
Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the  faithful  Witness."  f  In  the  mes- 
sages to  the  churches  of  Asia,  subsequently  delivered, 
this  glorious  Being  from  the  midst  of  the  candlesticks 
thus  speaks,  "These  things  saith  the  Amen,  the  faithful 
and  true  Witness."  %  When  in  the  hour  of  his  great 
humiliation  Jesus  stood  captive  in  the  presence  of  Pon- 
tius Pilate,  he  declared  to  the  Roman  knight  that  the 
purpose  of  his  coming  and  birth  into  the  world  was  that 
he  might  bear  witness  to  the  truth,  and  therein,  he 
added,  consisted  his  true  kingship.  §  This  character  as 
messenger  and  witness,  the  bearer  of  the  gospel,  the 
good  tidings,  is  that  which  was  predicted  by  the  pro- 
phets concerning  the  Messiah.  In  the  last  of  the  ca- 
nonical books  of  the  Old  Testament  the  predicted  Christ 
is  called  the  "Messenger  of  the  Covenant." ||  Indeed 
this  title  of  Messenger  or  Angel,  for  the  words  are  the 
same,  belongs  to  the  Second  Person  of  the  Godhead, 
who  appears  in  the  ancient  Scriptures  as  the  Angel  of 
the  Covenant,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord. 

We  need  only  read  the  Gospels  in  order  to  see  how 
faithful  Jesus  was  to  this  his  character  as  a  Messen- 
ger. He  declared  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  noth- 
ing but  the  truth.  His  joy  was  to  do  the  will  of  Him 
that  sent  him,  to  hold  up  before  the  children  of  men  the 
message  which  he  had  come  to  bring  them,  to  tell  them 
of  their  loss,  and  point  them  the  way  of  salvation;  to 
show  them  their  sins,  and  provide  for  them  a  way  of  es- 
cape ;  to  remind  them  of  the  fleeting  nature  of  this  life, 
and  fix  their  thoughts  upon  that  immortal  home  where 
the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  where  the  weary  are 
at  rest.  In  order  to  bear  this  message  to  men  he  shunned 
no  labor,  he  begrudged  no  cost,  he  withheld  no  pain,  but 
freely  bore  and  yielded  all  things,  even  life  itself  amid 
the  terrors  and  contumely  of  the  shameful  cross. 

*  Matthew  xx.  28.    t  Revelation  i.  5.    %  Revelation  iii.  14.    \  John 
xviii.  37.     ||  Malachi  iii.  1. 


152  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

In  bringing  this  message  into  the  world  how  truly  has 
he  refreshed  the  souls  of  those  to  whom,  for  the  time, 
he  became  a  servant!  As  the  ice-cold  water  to  the 
fever-consumed  patient,  so  is  this  message  to  the  souls 
who  are  parched  and  consumed  by  the  sins  and  mis- 
eries, the  vanities  and  falseness  of  the  world  of  guilt 
and  misery  in  which  they  live.  Oh!  you  whose  hearts 
are  burning  with  life's  fitful  fever,  whose  souls  are  bit- 
terly athirst,  behold,  this  message  comes  to  you  to-day! 
Drink  and  live!  Refresh  yourselves  with  the  waters 
that  flow  from  the  perennial  fountains  opened  by  the 
hand  of  the  Christ  upon  the  Mountains  of  Holiness  in 
the  Paradise  of  God. 

2.  Again,  the  Christ  is  not  only  faithful  as  the  Divine 
Messenger,  but  as  the  sinner's  Friend.  One  interesting 
and  curious  Scripture  lesson  derived  from  snow  is  that 
taught  by  the  patriarch  Job.  He  uses  the  snows  that 
melt  before  the  influence  of  the  summer  heat  as  an  em- 
blem of  Faithless  Friendship. 

I  have  stood  in  my  tent  door  in  the  Garden  of  the 
gods  of  Colorado,  and  watched  the  snow-storm  drifting 
around  the  summit  of  Pike's  Peak  until  it  had  been  cov- 
ered with  a  white  mantle.  The  flakes  accumulated  in 
thick  drifts  in  the  deep  ravines.  On  the  sudden  slopes 
they  lightly  bordered  the  fissures  like  a  delicate  lace 
veil.  On  the  abrupt  declivities  they  showed  themselves 
here  and  there  in  brilliant  spots.  Every  deep  in  the 
mountain  was  marked  out  from  afar  by  the  brilliant 
mould  of  snow  which  filled  it.  This  transient  snow  en- 
veloping the  mountain  like  a  veil,  which  so  far  from 
concealing  its  form  reveals  it  in  its  smallest  details, 
has  well  been  called  the  coquetry  of  nature.*  The  next 
day  when  the  summer  sun  arose,  the  grand  old  beacon 
of  the  American  desert,  whose  lofty  poll  had  thus  been 
whitened  the  night  before,  gradual ly  dropped  off  his 
snow)'  mantle  and  stood  out  in  naked  massive  propor- 
tions against  the  sky.  Such  a  phenomenon  as  this  might 
well  have  been  taken  as  a  fitting  emblem  of  the  transient 


*  Reclus— "The  History  of  a  Mountain,'7  page  ;: 


SNO  W-  WHITENESS:  THE  GLOR  Y  OF  CHRIST.      1 5  3 

nature  of  human  affection  or  of  any  other  human  beauty, 
grace,  or  service  ;  but  Job  appears  to  have  had  something 
else  in  his  mind,  the  breaking  up  of  the  winter  snow. 

When  the  soft  south  wind  blows  in  the  spring,  and 
the  heat  of  the  sun  acquires  fresh  fervor,  the  snows  piled 
upon  the  mountain  slopes,  packed  within  ravines,  and 
spread  upon  the  surface  of  the  streams,  begin  slowly  to 
dwindle  and  melt  and  glide  away,  until  at  last  they  and 
the  mountain  torrents  into  which  they  have  been  merged 
are  alike  extinct.  Such  is  the  patriarch's  figure  of  a 
friendship  which,  like  the  snows  and  snow-fed  torrents  of 
a  mountain,  yields  and  disappears  before  the  fierce  beat- 
ing of  affliction  and  poverty.  You  will  permit  me  to 
present  his  words  in  a  form  of  English  verse  which  per- 
haps may  convey  to  you  more  thoroughly  the  sense  of 
its  poetic  figure  and  beauty. 

14  To  one  who  is  consumed  by  burning  grief 
Consideration  from  a  friend  is  due. 

15  My  brothers  as  the  torrent  have  been  false, 
As  winter  torrents  when  they  fade  away. 

16  The  streams  were  dark  by  reason  of  the  ice; 
The  snows  within  their  bosom  hid  themselves. 

17  When  spring  time  comes  to  breathe  upon  them  warmth, 
They  melt,  they  dwindle  :— summer  comes  with  heat, 
And  from  their  channels  are  the  streams  extinct. 

18  Their  branching  brooklets  wind  along  the  sands. 
They  mount  up  in  the  waste,  in  vapor  die  ! 

19  The  traveling  bands  of  Tenia  looked  for  them  ; 
The  caravans  of  Seba  hoped  for  them  ; 

20  They  were  confounded,  for  their  trust  was  great, 
They  burned  with  grief  upon  the  empty  banks. 

Thus  ye  too  are  become  a  dried-up  brook  : 
Ye  saw  my  troubles  and  ye  stood  amazed.* 

There  are  parables  of  contrast  as  well  as  of  compari- 
son, and  here  all  is  contrast.  Whatever  charge  of  fickle- 
ness and  faithlessness  may  be  laid  against  human  friend- 
ships, none  such  can  be  urged  against  Him  who  is  the 
Friend  of  the  sinner.  His  love  passeth  that  of  woman. 
He  is  the  Friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother. 
His  friendship  has  not  been  wearied  by  your  faults ;  has 

*  Job  vi. 


154  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

not  been  alienated  by  your  follies  ;  has  not  been  broken 
by  wrongs  that  you  have  inflicted  thereon ;  ha 
been  exhausted  by  the  heavy  and  frequent  drafts  which 
you  have  made  upon  it  by  your  unworthiness  and  con- 
tempt of  his  love.  Poverty  has  laid  no  strain  upon  the 
friendship  of  Jesus.  The  enmity  of  man  has  not  broken 
the  cord  that  binds  the  heart  of  Christ  to  the  helpless. 
Those  who  have  least  of  human  friendship,  to  whom 
has  come  least  of  earth's  treasures  and  joys,  are  those 
who  may  most  surely  count  upon  the  abiding  friendship 
of  Jesus.  His  love  antedated  the  life  of  the  world: 
"Yea,  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting  love."  It 
will  outlive  the  life  of  worlds,  for  having  loved  his  own 
he  will  love  them  to  the  end.  He  is  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever;  the  same  loving  Friend  of  the  friend- 
less, Helper  of  the  needy,  Comforter  of  the  sorrowing; 
pouring  the  wealth  of  his  infinite  Friendship  upon  the 
waifs  of  life,  wooing  the  unfortunate  and  the  sinful  back 
through  Himself  to  the  paths  of  virtue  and  peace.  Oh, 
friendless  hearts!  Oh,  sin-bruised  spirits,  come  to  this 
Friend  and  be  made  happy  and  holy  forever  by  partaking 
of  his  heavenly  love!  This'  Glory  bends  down  today  to 
encompass  and  enfold  you.  Will  you  lift  up  your  life 
to  be  received  therein,  to  be  glorified  thereby?  If  you 
would  be  crowned  with  his  Glory  in  the  presence  of  the 
great  White  Throne,  you  must  share  with  him  on  earth 
both  glory  and  shame.  All  human  glories  are  as  the 
flowers  of  the  field;  they  will  perish  in  your  hand,  and 
their  faded  beauty  drop  from  your  lifeless  fingers  at  the 
touch  of  Death.  But  the  Glory  which  Jesus  offers  to 
divide  with  you  is  Fadeless  and  Eternal. 

While  walking  up  the  street  one  evening  during  an 
election  canvass  I  saw  rockets  flaring  aloft  leaving  be- 
hind them  trails  of  glittering  sparks.      There  was  a  rush 

along  a  graceful  curve,  a  momentary  twinkling,  a  brief 

explosion,  a  beautiful  display  of  colors,  and  then  all  was 

quenched  in  darkness.  Over  against  these  flaring  rock- 
ets, its  light  momentarily  hidden  by  them,  .shone  the 
Evening  Star;  shone  on   steadily,  shining  out  brightly 

when  the  rocket's  brief  glamour  had  faded  into  the 
night.     It  had  been  shining  since  the  morning  stars  sang 


SNO  W-  WHITENESS :  THE  GL  OR  Y  OF  CHRIS  T.     155 

together  the  hymnal  of  creation's  dawn,  and  it  shall 
shine  on  until  the  heavens  be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll, 
and  the  elements  melt  with  fervent  heat.  Here,  I 
thought,  is  the  type  of  the  human  and  the  Divine.  The 
glory  of  man  is  as  the  rocket  whose  beauty  and  lustre 
arrest  for  a  moment  the  admiration  of  beholders  and 
fade  away  forever.  But  the  glory  and  beauty  of  Christ, 
Heaven's  "  Bright  and  Morning  Star,"  shall  shine  on 
eternally.  O  soul,  turn  thou  from  following  the  fading 
lustre  of  earthly  honors,  and  fix  thy  faith  and  love  upon 
Him  whose  Glory  is  quenchless,  whose  Infinite  Splendor 
shall  illumine  Heaven  and  all  its  innumerable  Host, 
world  without  end ! 


LECTURE  IX. 


Snow-Purity : 
Human  Perfection. 

"  Her  nobles  were  purer  than  snow,  they  zvere 
whiter  than  milky — Lamentations  iv.  7. 

'•'•Wash  me  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow." — 
Psalm  li.  7. 


SNOW-PURITY:   HUMAN  PERFECTION. 


In  works  of  art  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  usually  re- 
presented in  white  garments.  This  symbolism  expresses, 
as  we  have  seen  in  the  last  lecture,  his  Divine  Glory. 
But  the  white  garments  of  the  Christ  express  also  the 
idea  of  purity,  for  always,  as  it  is  to-day,  whiteness  has 
been  the  emblem  of  innocence.  The  angels  of  God  as 
ministers  of  the  Most  High  are  clad  with  power  which 
they  exercise  among  men  and  over  nature;  but  that 
quality  which  appears  to  have  been  taken  as  especially 
characteristic  of  them  is  holiness.  Hence  they  are  known 
as"  the  holy  angels,"  "the holy  ones," and  therefore  they 
are  always  represented  in  the  Scriptures  as  clothed  in 
white.  The  angel  of  the  Lord  who  rolled  away  the  stone 
from  the  grave  of  Jesus  on  the  morning  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion was  clad  in  raiment  white  as  snow.*  The  angels 
who  visited  the  disciples  as  they  stood  looking  stead- 
fastly into  heaven  after  the  ascended  Lord  were  clad  in 
white  apparel. t 

A  like  symbolism  is  used  to  express  the  holiness  of 
men.  Jeremiah  expresses  the  righteousness  of  Zion  in 
her  days  of  faithfulness  to  Jehovah  by  declaring  that  "  her 
nobles  (or  Nazarites)  were  purer  than  snow."  The  saints 
in  glory  shall  walk  with  Christ  in  white,  because  they 
are  worthy,  not  having  defiled  their  garments.^  The 
four-and- twenty  elders  upon  the  thrones  are  arrayed  in 
white.§  In  the  judgment  day  the  saints  shall  receive 
"the  white  stone,"||  the  token  of  acquittal  and  recogni- 
tion of  the  righteousness  of  their  new  life,  as  the  white 
ballot  or  ball  in  certain  American  societies  is  the  sign 
of  the  elector's  approval  of  an  applicant  for  membership. 
This  symbol  is  transferred  to  the  Church  considered  in 
its  Catholic  unity,  for  we  are  told  that  the  Bride,  which 
is  the  Lamb's  wife,  at  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  shall 

__  *  Matt,  xxviii.  3.    f  Acts  i.  10.    t  Rev.  iii.  4.    2  Rev.  iv.  4.    II  Rev. 
11.  17. 

(159) 


160  THE  GOSPEL   IN  NATURE. 

array  herself  in  fine  linen,  bright  and  pure,  for  the  fine 
linen   is  the  righteous  acts  of  the  saint-. 

Under  the  Jewish  ritual  on  the  great  day  of  Atone- 
ment the  High  Priest  was  required  to  put  <>n  his  linen 
coat,  even  the  holy  garments,  and  thus  he  was  to  make 
atonement  for  the  holy  sanctuary,  for  the  priests  and  for 
all  the  people. f  The  official  garments  of  the  priests 
and  Levites  in  the  Jewish  temple  service  were  undoubt- 
edly white.  A  similar  dress  prevailed  in  the  Christian 
Church  as  early  at  least  as  the  fourth  century,  and  is 
retained  among  the  ministers  of  the  Anglican,  Episcopal 
and  Roman  Churches,  although  it  maybe  considered  very 
doubtful  whether  it  was  a  return  to  the  priestly  habit  of 
the  Hebrew  ritual,  or  a  simple  development  from  the 
ordinary  garments  of  the  laity  of  early  times  as  main- 
tained by  Dean  Stanley.J  Even  choristers  and  choir  boys 
are  clad  in  white  linen  garments,  in  token  of  that  purity 
of  life  which  ought  to  be  the  mark  of  those  who  officiate 
in  the  song  service  of  God's  holy  house. 

We  are  thus  led  to  that  subject  which  is  naturally  as- 
sociated with  Snow-Purity, viz., personal  purity,  holiness 
or  perfection.  The  term  perfection  may  be  used  in  cur- 
rent theological  language  in  a  three-fold  sense.  First, 
it  expresses  the  perfection  of  man  at  his  origin  as  re- 
garded from  the  view  point  of  the  Bible  narrative  of 
creation.  Second,  it  expresses  that  legal  perfection 
which  is  bestowed  in  the  act  of  justification  and  pardon 
through  the  soul's  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Third,  it 
expresses  the  actual  possession  by  man  of  the  genu  of 
a  holy  life  and  his  progress  therein,  known  as  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  which  is  consummated  at  the  general  resurrec- 
tion, when  God's  saints  are  "  made  perfect  in  holiness." 
The  present  discourse  will  be  concerned  chiefly  with  the 
first  two  of  these  meanings. 

I.  We  turn,  in  the  first  place,  to  consider  man's  Primi- 
tive Holiness.  The  Bible  pictures  the  original  man  in  a 
condition  far  from  savagery.  It  is  also  widely  separate 
from  an  est. it--  of  civilization  as  known  among  us.    Of  the 

..  \ix.  S.      :  I  ;  Siam.i  v  —  "Christian   Institu- 

tions," chapter  VIII.,  page  178. 


SNOW-PURITY:  HUMAN  PERFECTION.  l6l 

arts  and  sciences,  and  ordinary  comforts  and  luxuries  of 
society,  the  primitive  pair  knew  nothing.  These  rapidly 
arose,  however,  for  we  find  music,  the  invention  of  the 
pipe  and  organ,  the  keeping  of  flocks  and  herds,  the 
forging  of  copper  and  iron,  the  making  of  cutting  instru- 
ments, and  such-like  arts,  already  appearing  in  the 
family  of  Cain,  showing  that  the  inherent  tendencies  of 
man  in  that  direction  were  strong  at  the  very  outset.* 
What  Holy  Scriptures  present,  and  what  our  faith  affirms, 
concerning  man's  original  nature  is  that  he  was  made  in 
the  image  of  God.  St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  church  of 
Colosse,f  said  :  "And  have  put  on  the  new  man  which 
is  renewed  in  Knowledge  after  the  image  of  Him  that 
created  him."  Writing  to  the  Ephesians,J  he  says  :  "  Put 
on  the  new  man  which  after  God  is  created  in  Righte- 
ousness and  true  Holiness."'  It  is  plain  from  these  pas- 
sages that  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  holiness  are 
elements  of  the  image  of  God  in  which  man  was  origi- 
nally created.  Adam,  as  soon  as  he  began  to  be,  had 
self-knowledge.  He  was  conscious  of  his  own  being, 
faculties,  and  states.  He  had  also  the  knowledge  of 
what  was  outside  of  himself,  or  he  had  what  modern 
philosophy  calls  world-consciousness. § 

It  is,  of  course,  unnecessary  for  us  to  affirm,  in  declar- 
ing that  original  man  was  a  creature  of  knowledge,  that 
he  knew  everything.  His  knowledge  of  material  things 
was  undoubtedly  imperfect.  It  was  certainly  sufficient 
to  maintain  life  and  health,  to  defend  himself  against 
such  inconveniences  and  obstacles  as  his  primitive  con- 
dition might  have  presented,  although  we  know  from 
Scripture  that  it  was,||  and  infer  from  science  that  it  must 
have  been,  extremely  favorable  in  all  its  surroundings.^ 
The  Bible  record  of  what  Adam  knew  of  the  external 
world  is  limited  chiefly  to  the  statement  that  his  mind 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  living  things  near  his  abode ; 
and  that  he  was  able  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other, 

*  Genesis  iv.  20-23.  t  Col.  iii.  10.  %  Eph.  iv.  24.  \  Dr.  Chas. 
Hodge — "Systematic Theology,"  vol.  II.,  page  101.  ||  Gen.  ii.  8. 
\  Sir  William  Dawson— " Story  of  the  Earth  and  Man,"  page 
367.  Wallace — "On  Natural  Selection,"  page  320.  Winchell 
— "  Preadamites,"  page  356. 


1 62  THE  GOSPEL  IX  X ATC RE. 

to  name  them,  and  perhaps  in  a  rude  way  to  classify 
them.*  The  first  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  was 
established  in  the  groves  of  Eden. 

The  chief  thing  for  us  to  believe  is  that  Adam  knew 
God,  whom  to  know  is  life  eternal  ;  that  he  had  knowl- 
edge of  himself  and  of  his  relations  to  God;  that  his  moral 
nature  was  in  full  exercise,  and  that  in  all  essential  par- 
ticulars his  soul  was  pure.  Such  an  estate  does  not 
require  us  to  suppose  the  learning  of  the  schools,  the 
skill  of  the  mechanic  arts,  and  the  culture  and  poli-h  of 
manners  which  obtain  among  the  most  highly  civilized 
modern  nations.  With  respect  to  these  attainments,  we 
may  perhaps  agree  that  man  at  his  origin  was  neither 
■:  nor  civilized,  but  simply  undeveloped.!  It  is  an 
experience  with  which  we  are  continually  meeting,  and 
which  may  be  observed  in  all  parts  of  Christendom  to- 
day, that  the  greatest  vigor  of  intellect  and  stroi 
moral  sense  may  be  associated  with  the  humblest  sur- 
roundings and  simplest  forms  of  life  ami  manners. 

There  is  a  pride  of  civilization  which  is  fed  or  rather 
inflated  by  very  superficial  material.  There  are  many 
whose  ideas  of  "high  society,"  of  "nobility,"  of  lofty 
development,  and  "enlightenment"  are  inseparable  from 
palatial  dwellings — I  do  not  say  "homes" — splendid  fur- 
niture, costly  works  of  art,  luxurious  entertainment,  abun- 
dant and  disciplined  service.  Even  here  in  Republican 
America  multitudes  genuflect  and  cringe  covetously  be- 
fore wealth  and  its  accessories,  as  though  they  were  the 
Standard  of  all  worth  and  manhood.  You  shall  see  the 
ideas  <»f  such  folks  whirl  and  somersault  through  whole- 
arcs  and  circles  of  admiration  at  a  sudden  announce- 
ment that  such  and  such  a  man  i^  a  millionaire;  that 
this  or  that  lady  is  an  heiress!  Their  are  men  in  high 
rd  in  this  and  all  other  cities  simply  for  their  money 
who,  independent  of  that,  would  not  be  thought  worthy 
of  a  i  ignition.     Yes,  we  may  see  men   who 

are  moral  lepers,  polluted  to  the  core  of  their  lives,  not 
only  tolerated  but  fawned  over,  feted,  served,  because  they 
have  seized  power  and  wealth.    Shamel    Let  us  clear  our 

i.  ii.  19,  20.    +  Professor  Harris — "The Self-Revelation 
346. 


SNOW-PURITY:   HUMAN  PERFECTION.  163 

thinking  of  such  fogs ;  let  us  purify  our  moral  atmos- 
phere of  such  miasmatic  ideas,  and  exalt  pure,  true 
manhood  and  womanhood,  irrespective  of  the  tinsel  of 
outward  estate.  Let  us  remember  that  the  most  heroic 
ages  of  our  Republic  were  times  of  simplicity  of  man- 
ners and  life.  Let  us  away  forever  with  the  notion  that 
the  veneer  of  modern  luxury  and  riches  is  necessary  to 
high  and  pure  character! 

For  one  moment  draw  in  your  mind  a  contrast  between 
two  states  of  society  in  our  Mother  country,  and  which 
may  easily  be  reproduced  here.  One  is  limneci  to  us  by 
the  pen  of  daily  journalism,  whose  often  too  prurient  hand 
plucks  aside  the  veil  that  barely  hides  from  public  view 
the  social  life  of  some  degraded  examples  of  England's 
proud  nobility  or  America's  inflated  plutocracy.  One 
glance — I  dare  not  bid  you  take  more — and  lo !  a  group 
more  loathsome  than  lepers,  putrescent  at  the  very  seat 
of  life,  reveling  amidst  the  fairest  creations  of  modern 
civilization.  Drop  the  veil!  Shut  out  the  infected  spot, 
and  let  us  look  now  at  a  picture  drawn  from  the  "  other 
extreme  of  the  social  scale,"  to  use  the  swelling  phrase  of 
caste.  It  is  the  matchless  picture  of  the  Scotch  peasant's 
home,  written  by  Robert  Burns.  The  Saturday  night 
gathering  of  children  from  their  weekly  toil,  the  simple 
tale  of  love,  the  humble  surroundings,  the  patriarchal  act 
of  evening  worship,  are  depicted  in  matchless  phrasing. 

Then  homeward  all  take  off  their  sev'ral  way  ; 

The  youngling  cottagers  retire  to  rest  ; 
The  parent  pair  their  secret  homage  pay, 

And  proffer  up  to  Heaven  the  warm  request 
That  He  who  stills  the  raven's  clam'rous  nest, 

And  decks  the  lily  fair  in  flow'ry  pride, 
Would,  in  the  way  his  Wisdom  sees  the  best, 

For  them  and  for  their  little  ones  provide  ; 

But  chiefly,  in  their  hearts  with  Grace  Divine  preside. 

From  scenes  like  these  old  Scotia's  grandeur  springs, 
That  makes  her  loved  at  home,  revered  abroad  ; 

Princes  and  lords  are  but  the  breath  of  kings, 
"An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God  ;" 

And  certes,  in  fair  Virtue's  heavenly  road, 
Thecottage  leaves  the  palace  far  behind. 

What  is  a  lordling's  pomp?     A  cumbrous  load 
Disguising  oft  the  wretch  of  human  kind 
Studied  in  arts  of  hell,  in  wickedness  refined  !* 


*  Burns — "The  Cotter's  Saturday  Night  " 


1 64  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATL  RE. 

Do  not  misunderstand  ;  there  are  women  and  men  of 
rank  and  wealth  who  adorn  the  highest  circles  of  the 
true  nobility  of  nature  and  grace.  They  live  to  honor 
nd  bless  their  fellows ;  they  are  foremost  in  every 
work  of  self-denial  and  bounty  that  can  add  force  to  the 
ge  whose  uplift  shall  raise  mankind  to  a  loftier 
plane  of  character  and  life.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
are  poor  dwellers  in  lowly  and  ill-furnished  homes  who 
are  as  far  removed  from  the  high  moral  altitude  of 
Burns' cotter  as  is  the  stainless  snow  of  a  country  field 
from  the  winrows  of  frozen  filth  that  fringe  our  city 
streets.  They  live  in  rural  hut  and  cottage;  in  New- 
York  tenement  houses,  like  ant-hills  in  their  swarm- 
ing life,  but  unlike  them  toto  ccelo  in  every  element  of 
physical  and 'moral  purity;  3  ,  they  live  also  in  Phila- 
delphia's pretty  little  brick  homes  with  their  white  mar- 
ble trimmings.  God  pi  y  and  keep  them  all!  But  the 
point  which  I  seek  here  to  emphasize  is  that  mere  - 
condition,  whether  high  or  low,  does  n  and  never 

did  determine  man's  rank  in  personal  purity  and  nobility 
of  character.  These  are  mere  secondary  elements  which 
Ave  may  readily  separate  from  the  question  of  the  real 
standing  of  .Adam  as  a  perfect  man. 

2.  There  is  nothing  contrary  to  the  fullest  actual  attain- 
ments of  modern  science  in  the  belief  that  man  at  his 
origin  was  in  this  sense  a  perfect  being.  If  we  think  of 
his  physical  nature  simply,  there  is  not  a  scintilla  of  tes- 
timony, entitled  to  consideration  as  scientific  evidence, 
that  fossil  man,  so  called,  was  any  different  in  his  physi- 
cal characteristics  from  man  as  he  is  to-day.*  Whatever 
the  future  may  uncover,  this  is  the  present  condition  of 
our  km  ■ 

This  is  certainly  according  to  the  analogy  of  nature. 

T  think  I  may  affirm  without  far  of  contradiction  that 

-il  animal  has  ever  been  uncovered  from  any 

1  <n  which,  so  \.\r  as  could  be  determined, 

did    not    1     -  in    all   plenitude  and   amplitude   of  its 

fauna)  characteristics  everything  necessary  to  insure  its 

'Natural    Selection,"    ,  Huxley— 

••  Man's   Place  in  Nature,"  | 


SNOW-PURITY:  HUMAN  PERFECTION.  165 

perfect  life  amidst  the  conditions  of  its  being.  Numbers 
of  species  have  been  preserved  to  us  from  very  early 
periods  which  have  their  close  representatives  in  living 
creatures.  In  so  far  as  a  comparison  between  the  two 
classes  can  determine,  the  oldest  are  as  perfect  after  their 
kind  as  the  latest.  The  earliest  fossil  spiders  of  which 
I  have  any  knowledge  appear  to  be  as  perfectly  adapted 
to  the  conditions  of  their  life  as  those  which  spin  and 
weave  and  capture  their  prey  every  summer  in  our  gar- 
dens and  fields.  A  series  of  figures  of  fossil  spiders 
collected  in  Colorado,*  might  well  be  taken  for  drawings 
of  a  number  of  badly-damaged  species  of  our  current 
fauna.  Moreover,  the  only  example  of  the  industry  of 
these  remarkable  creatures  which  has  been  preserved  to 
us  from  early  periods,  a  little  fossil  cocoon  or  egg-sac,f 
appears  to  be  as  perfect  as  are  the  egg-nests  of  the 
genus!  to  which  it  probably  belongs,  as  they  may  be 
found  every  summer  in  the  shady  ravines  of  Delaware 
county,  or  hanging  underneath  the  rocky  ledges  in 
Fairmount  Park.  The  beautifully  preserved  fossil  ara- 
neads  of  the  amber§  of  Europe  are  in  every  essential 
respect  identical  with  recent  genera. 

The  point  which  I  am  here  seeking  to  emphasize  is 
that  the  habit  of  nature  appears  to  be  to  present  its  new 
forms  of  life  as  perfect  forms.  Their  first  apparition 
above  the  geologic  horizon  in  which  they  are  discovered, 
presents  them  to  the  vision  of  science  full-orbed  species, 
well  furnished,  and  completely  outfitted  for  their  place 
in  nature. 

There  is  indeed  a  tendency  of  low  types  to  appear 
first,  but  appear  in  their  highest  perfection  and  variety  ;|| 
sometimes,  like  the  fishes  of  the  Upper  Silurian,  they 
appear  at  once  as  "  kings  of  their  class."  Why,  there- 
fore, should  we  suppose  any  exception  in  the  case  of 
man?  Why,  at  least,  should  we  be  surprised  at  the 
statement  that  man,  when  he  appeared,  made  his  appari- 
tion with  all  his  physical  characteristics,  a  perfect  man? 

*  S.  H.  Scudder  —  "Tertiary  Insects  of  North  America." 
f  Aranea  Columbia,  Scudder.  %  Linyphia.  \  Koch  and  Ber- 
exdt.  See  also  Thorell's  "  European  Spiders."  ||  Sir  William 
Dawsox — "Story  of  the  Earth  and  Man,"  page  55. 


1 66  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

3.  But  man's  physical  nature  is  by  no  means  the  most 
important  part  of  him.  He  is  a  rational  and  moral 
creatine  as  well.  It  may  seem  strange  that  there  should 
be  any  need  to  emphasize  or  even  express  the  fact  that 
man  stands  alone  in  the  world  as  a  moral  being.  Vet 
in  our  ition   this  has  not   only  been  doubted,  but 

vigorously  denied,  and  it  is  needful  for  us  here  at  least 
to  allude  to  the  fact.  I  do  not  enter  into  the  interesting 
and  undoubtedly  difficult  question  as  to  the  exact  differ- 
ence between  human  intelligence  and  animal  instinct. 
It  is  enough  here  to  say  that  the  ripest  utterance  of  phi- 
losophy declares  that  the  lower  animals  cannot  form 
high  ideals  which  constitute  the  peculiar  charac- 
teristics of  man:  the  ideas  of  necessary  truth,  or  1 
good  and  infinity,  culminating  in  the  idea  of  God.  There 
is  no  ground  for  believing  that  any  of  the  lower  animals 
have  a  sense  of  good  as  good,  and  of  binding  obliga- 
tion, of  a  sense  of  evil  as  evil,  as  deserving  ot  disap- 
proval.* 

Even  Mr.  Darwin,  much  as  he  has  done  or  attempted 
to  break  down  the  barrier  between  man  and  the  inferior 
creatures,  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  we  have  no 
11  to  suppose  that  any  of  the  lower  animals  have  the 
capacity  of  comparing  their  past  or  future  actions  or 
motives ,  or  <  >f  approving  or  disapproving  them.  "  There- 
fore," he  continues,  "when  a  Newfoundland  dog  dr 
child  out  of  the  water,  or  a  monkey  fa< 
rescue  its  comrade,  or  take  charge  of  an  orphan  monkey, 
we  do  not  call  its  conduct  moral."  f 

When  poor   old  "Jumbo"  interposed  his  bulky  body 

cue  the  baby  elephant,  and  thus  was  stricken  by  the 

Canadian     Railway     train    that    caused     his    death,    the 

action  was  one  which  excited  a  thrill  of  admiration  and 

sympathy.     Whatever  motive  may  have  stirred  tin-  mas- 

reature  to  this  ait  of  affection,  we  cannot  attribute 
it  to  moral    idea--.      Such  an  act  is    separated    by  ail    im- 

ble  gulf  from  that  of  the  noble  engineer  who,  from 
a  sense  of  high  obligation  in  the  discharge  of  his  respon- 

*Pii  Mi  Cosh — "  Christianity  and  P 

o  chapter  V.  of  thai  seed-hed  of  pertinent  and  lofty  thoughts. 
I  "  Descent  of  Man."  page  1  u. 


SNOW-PURITY:  HUMAN  PERFECTION.  167 

sible  trust,  ventures  his  life  to  save  an  endangered  train ; 
from  that  of  the  physician  who  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duty  to  God,  to  humanity,  and  to  science  risks  his  life 
atjain  and  arain  in  efforts  to  rescue  the  victim  of  con- 
tagious  disease  from  impending  death  ;  from  that  of  the 
mother  who,  in  holy  consecration  to  her  children's  wel- 
fare, toils,  sacrifices,  suffers  day  after  day,  year  after  year, 
that  her  offspring  may  be  nurtured  not  only  into  vigorous 
physical  life  but  into  moral  purity  and  faith.  Whatever 
may  be  the  difference  between  these  two  classes  of  actions, 
we  know  that  in  those  of  the  animal  there  is  no  sense  of 
good  as  good,  of  evil  as  evil;  no  sense  of  obligation  to 
a  higher  Power  or  to  any  idea  of  duty  and  moral  right- 
eousness. Goodness  is  a  law  determining  the  relations 
between  things,  relations  which  have  to  be  realized  by 
free-wills.*  Thus  it  follows  that  among  innumerable 
forms  of  organized  being  in  the  world,  there  is  but  one 
representative  of  moral  life.  No  being  save  man  con- 
templates a  general  law  of  life,  making  its  fulfillment  a 
deliberate  end  of  action ;  no  being  save  man  possesses  a 
conception  of  duty  or  "  oughtness."  No  animal  con- 
templates a  general  law  of  conduct,  or  intelligible  rule 
of  life  applicable  for  the  government  of  the  order  to 
which  it  belongs;  no  animal  subordinates  physical  im- 
pulse at  the  bidding  of  such  a  law;  no  animal  aims  at 
the  perfecting  of  its  nature  under  a  general  conception 
of  the  excellence  of  its  own  nature  as  dog,  horse,  or  ape. 
Therefore  we  conclude  that  man  alone  of  all  living 
beings  known  to  us  in  this  world  is  a  moral  being,  f 

4.  Further,  the  power  of  reasoning  intelligence,  the 
sense  of  God  and  of  right  and  wrong,  reverence,  duty, 
and  conscience,  all  these  appear  to  have  been  as  vigor- 
ous in  man  at  the  beginning  as  they  are  to-day  .J  So 
far  from  there  being  evidence  that  man  at  the  outset  was 
a  chattering  ape-man,  or  a  human-like  savage  uttering 
inarticulate  sounds,  with   no   thought  of  God  except  a 

*  Naville — "The  Problem  of  Evil"  (Godet).  f  Calderwood 
— "Science  and  Religion,"  page  278.  "The  Relations  of  Mind 
and  Brain,"  page  504.  i  Rawlinson  —  "Origin  of  Nations," 
page  10. 


i68  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

wild  fear  of  Nature  and  a  blind  wonder  at  the  strange 
things  occurring  on  all  hands  around  him,  the  contrary 
is  the  case.     What  is  the  testimony  of  1  [istory? 

The  evidence  appears  to  be  that  there  is  a  special  ten- 
dency in  religious  conceptions  to  run  into  developments 
(jf  corruption  and  decay.  We  have  found  in  the  most 
ancient  records  of  the  Aryan  language  proof  that  the 
indications  of  religious  thought  are  higher,  simpler, 
purer  as  we  go  back  in  time.  At  least  in  the  very  old- 
est compositions  of  human  speech  which  have  come- 
down to  us,  we  find  the  Divine  Being  spoken  of  in  the 
sublime  language  which  forms  the  opening  of  the  Lord's 
Babylonian  documents  of  early  date  tell,  simi- 
larly, of  art  and  literature  having  preceded  the  great 
deluge,  and  having  survived  it.  Tin-  explorers  who 
have  dug  deep  into  the  Mesopotamia!!  mounds, and  ran- 
sacked the  tombs  of  Egypt,  have  come  upon  no  certain 
traces  of  savage  man  in  those  regions,  which  a  wide- 
spread tradition  makes  the  cradle  of  the  human  race.f 
When  we  an:  in  search  of  our  puresl  forms  of  moral 
truth,  our  sublimest  ideals  of  duty,and  our  loftiest  forms 
of  reverence  and  prai  G     i,  we  do  not  turn  to  mod- 

ern  religious  developments  such  as  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, or  the   fanciful  worship  of  Comte  ami  the  Positi- 
vists,  or  to  Herbert  Spencer's  "  Data  of  Ethics,"  or  the 
theories  ^\  Michael  Bakunin  and  the  Nihilists.     \\ 
further  back.      We  go  back  to   the  wr\  I  ami  old- 

est; and  the  nearer  we  draw   to  the  dawn   <>f  human   life 
.veet.-r,  the   simpler,  the   loftier  do  we  find   the  con- 
ceptions of  ( i'  >d  and  right. 

The  religion  of  .air   Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  con- 
dly   the  presentation  of  moral   purity 

and  excellence,  is,  as   He  Him  lared,  but  the  ful- 

fillment, the  outflowering,  the  enlargement  and  develop- 
ment ■  -f  the  law  and  the  prophel  5.  Mount  Sinai  and  the 
Mount  of  Beatitudes,  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  are  widely  separate  m  time,  but 
are  linked  together  by  community  of  thought,  and  are 
generically  one  with  the  precepts  of  religion  and  right- 

;  he  Unity  <>f  Natui  520. 

t  K.v 


SNOW-PURITY:  HUMAN  PERFECTION.  169 

eousness  which  ruled   the  life  of  Abraham,  Noah,  and 
the  patriarchs. 

Not  less  significant  is  the  fact  that  everywhere  in  the 
imagination  and  traditions  of  mankind  there  is  preserved 
the  memory  and  the  belief  in  a  past  better  than  the  pres- 
ent. It  is  a  constant  saying,  we  are  told,  among  African 
tribes  that  formerly  heaven  was  nearer  to  man  than  it  is 
now;  that  the  highest  God,  the  creator  himself,  gave  form- 
erly lessons  of  wisdom  to  human  beings;  but  that  after- 
wards he  withdrew  from  them,  and  dwells  now  far  from 
them  in  heaven.  All  the  Indian  races  have  the  same 
tradition ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  a  belief  so 
universal  could  have  arisen  unless  as  a  survival.  It  has 
all  the  marks  of  being  a  memory  and  not  an  imagina- 
tion. It  would  reconcile  the  origin  of  man  with  that 
law  which  has  been  elsewhere  universal  in  creation — the 
law  under  which  every  creature  has  been  produced  not 
only  with  appropriate  powers,  but  with  appropriate  in- 
stincts and  intuitive  perceptions,  for  the  guidance  of 
these  powers  in  their  exercise  and  use.* 

II.  Our  lesson  leads  us,  in  the  second  place,  to  con- 
sider that  Legal  Perfection  which  is  bestowed  in  the  act 
of  Justification  through  the  soul's  Faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

Whatever  may  be  our  view  as  to  the  degree  of  perfec- 
tion originally  possessed  by  man,  we  shall  not  differ 
widely  as  to  the  fact  that  a  large  portion  of  the  human 
race  is  sunken  in  a  low  depth  of  iniquity.  This  is  well 
expressed  by  the  sharp  contrast  drawn  in  one  of  the 
passages  chosen  as  our  text.  Israel  faithful  and  Israel 
fallen  are  thus  figured  : — 

7  Her  nobles  were  purer  than  snow, 
Whiter  they  were  than  milk.     *    *    * 

8  Their  visage  is  blacker  than  coal ; 
They  are  not  known  in  the  streets.! 

"  God  made  man  upright,  but  they  have  sought  out 
many    inventions."!      "All    we    like    sheep   have    gone 

*  The  Duke  of  Argyll— "The  Unity  of  Nature, "  pages  542-3. 
t  Lam.  iv.  7.     X  Eccl.  vii.  29. 


I/O  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

astray."*  These  are  Scripture  expressions  which  de- 
clare to  us  what  history  and  human  consciousne- 
firm,  that  man  is  now  separate  from  that  ideal  of  holiness 
which  it  is  possible  for  him  to  conceive  and  which  he 
knows  that  he  may  realize.  You  are  walking  in  the 
t,  and  find  in  your  pathway  a  riven  oak.  You  did 
•e  the  falling  bolt  "nor  hear  the  crash  of  the  thun- 
der, nor  witness  the  shattering  of  this  forest  king,  but 
you  know  it  was  smitten  by  lightning.  The  destroying 
bolt  has  left  its  own  testimony.  Look  now  at  this 
ruined  man  ;  You  did  not  see  him  destroyed,  but  the 
traces  of  destruction  are  manifest  everywhere  upon  him, 
and  you  know  that  some  time  he  was  riven  by  the  light- 
ning stroke  of  sin. 

Most  of  you  have  frequently  been  reminded  of  a  poem 
entitled  "  Beautiful  Snow."  Every  year  as  the  winter 
in  it  become-  a  theme  for  banter  and  jest  by  the 
paragraphers  of  the  public  pre-  3.  Yel  thep  m  is  by  no 
means  as  well  known  as  the  universal  knowledge  of  its 
title  would  seem  I  znify.  That  title  is  very  deceiv- 
ing,—  it  calls  up  a  vision  of  the  simple  beauty  of  the 
fall,  but  in  point  of  fact  there  is  very  little  of  such 
charm  in  the  poem  itself.  It  is  a  sad  and  dolorous 
strain,  the   burden   of  which   is  well   i  :d   by  the 

words  of  Jeremiah's  Lamentations  which  have  just  been 
quoted. 

How  the  wild  crowd  goes  swayii 

I  [ailing  each  other  with  humor  and  song  ! 

I  lou  th(  rs  (lash  by — 

•  for  .i  moment,  then  lost  to  the 
Ringing,  su  ii 

he  beautiful  snow  : 
pure  when  it  falls  from  the  sky — 
be  trampled  in  mud  by  the  crowd  rushing  by  ' 
trampled  and  tracked  by  the  thousands  ol 
Till  it  blends  with  the  lilth  in  the  horril 

snow — but  I  fell  : 
lik>-  the  snow-flakes,  from  heaven  to  hell. 

«**♦♦#*  # 

illen  so  I 
And  yet  I  ua-  once  \W<-  this  beautiful  snow 

\V.  \\.\i 


SNO  U  -PL  JRITl ':  Hi  WAX  PERFECTION.         I J I 

It  is  the  degradation  of  the  human  family  that  we  are 
called  upon  to  contemplate  no  less  than  its  exaltation. 
Sinful  dispositions  and  habits,  allied  with  adverse  cir- 
cumstances, their  usual  consequences,  have  wrought 
through  long  periods  to  crush  man  down  and  efface  the 
Divine  image  wherein  he  was  created.  The  cruel,  im- 
moral, bestialized  savage  is  not  the  original  man,  but  the 
degradation  of  the  original.  Had  savagery  been  the 
primitive  condition  of  mankind,  it  is  scarcely  conceiva- 
ble that  he  ever  could  have  emerged  from  it.  Savages 
left  to  themselves  continue  savages,  show  no  signs  of 
progression,  stagnate,  deteriorate.  There  is  no  historical 
evidence,  says  Rawlinson,  of  savages  having  civilized 
themselves;  no  instance  on  record  of  their  ever  having 
been  raised  out  of  their  miserable  condition  by  any  other 
means  than  by  contact  with  a  civilized  race.  The  torch 
of  civilization  is  handed  on  from  age  to  age,  from  race  to 
race.  If  it  were  once  extinguished,  there  is  great  doubt 
whether  it  could  ever  be  relighted.* 

Here  in  the  spiritual  sphere  it  is  even  as  naturalists 
have  proved  it  to  be  in  the  material  world,  the  germs  of 
life  when  once  obliterated  from  any  space,  can  never  by 
spontaneous  generation  be  restored.  Life  is  brought  in 
from  without,  it  never  is  born  from  within.  A  death- 
smitten  space,  if  it  shall  bloom  once  more  with  vital 
beauty,  must  receive  its  germs  from  some  other  force  or 
will  than  that  which  lies  within  itself. 

The  Bible  scheme  of  redemption  presents  God  as 
the  external  Force,  the  Divine  Will  seeking  to  restore 
our  race  from  a  lost  condition.  Heaven  has  labored 
through  the  ages  to  inspire  man  with  desire  to  regain 
his  moral  standing;  and  thus  animated  we  behold  him 
struggling  up,  fostering  the  hope  and  aspiration  for 
heavenly  things,  sometimes  gaining  the  heights  and 
again  plunged  into  the  depths;  now  walking  on  the 
highway  of  holiness,  and  again  plunged  in  the  mire; 
floundering  helplessly  or  sparing  loftily,  but  amidst  all 
changes  and  discouragements  struggling  upward  toward 
God  by  the  help  of  God. 

*  Rawlinson — "Antiquity  of  Man  Historically  Considered," 
page  26. 


1 72  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TL  'RE. 

It  has  been  announced  by  Heaven,  and  recognized  by- 
man  himself,  that  this  restoration  cannot  be  attained  by- 
self-help.  "  Come  now,"  we  read,  "  and  let  us  reason  to- 
gether," saith  the  Lord.  "  Though  your  sins  be  as  scar- 
let, they  shall  be  white  as  snow."*  "  Purge  me  with 
hyssop  and  I  shall  be  clean,"  is  the  cry  of  the  penitent 
Psalmist  unto  God ;  "  Wash  me  and  I  shall  be  whiter 
than  snow!"  "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  oh  God,  and 
renew  a  right  spirit  within  me."t 

The  old  Testament  starting-point  for  this  work  of  re- 
demption seems  to  be  the  presentation  of  God  as  a  Being 
of  perfect  holiness.  Men,  we  know,  never  rise  higher  in 
moral  excellence  than  the  deities  whom  they  warship. 
It  would  have  been  strange,  indeed,  if  the  worship  of 
such  corrupt,  quarrelsome,  and  licentious  divinities  as 
composed  the  Pantheon  of  Greece  and  Rome  should 
have  produced  any  other  effect  upon  the  life  of  their  vo- 
taries than  that  moral  corruption  which  history  declares. 
To  effect  and  maintain  purity  of  morals  on  the  part  of 
the  Hebrews  it  was  necessary  that  their  God  should  be 
presented  to  them  as  one  of  Infinite  Holiness.  This  at- 
tribute accordingly  we  see  everywhere  represented  and 
conveyed  in  the  requirements  of  the  Ceremonial  Law. 

Cleanliness,  it  has  been  said,  is  next  to  godliness.  In 
one  sense  it  is  certainly  true.  The  thought  of  moral 
purity  associates  itself  closely  with  bodily  purity.  When 
the  Israelites  came  up  out  of"  Egypt  to  receive  from  JeT 
hovah  a  law,  a  church,  a  theology  that  should  lift  them 
into  a  high  position  as  a  nation.it  was  taken  for  granted 
that  knowledge  of  and  belief  in  God  as  a  Holy  Being 
must  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  progress  toward  per- 
sonal purity  in  man.  But  how  should  that  idea  be  con- 
veyed  to  and  kept  prominent  before  a  people  who  had 
long  been  debased  by  a  condition  of  expatriation,  bond- 
age, social  and  religious  communion  with  the  gross  idol- 
atries of  Egypt?  No  doubt  this  question  lies  at  the  base 
of  the  grand  system  of  object-teaching  presented  in  the 
ceremonial  law  ol   M<  1 

Observe  how  the   idea  (.("physical  purity  was  intro- 

Liah  i.  is.     t  Psalm  li.  7-10.    %  Philosophj  of  the  Plan  of  Sal- 
vation. 


SNOW-PURITY:  HUMAN  PERFECTION.         173 

duced  into  the  ordinary  laws  of  health.  Ceremony  was 
associated  with  moral  ideas.  Contact  with  any  unclean 
thing,  with  the  dead,  with  bone,  with  contagious  dis- 
eases, rendered  the  individual  unfit  for  religious  service 
and  set  him  aside  from  the  congregation  of  the  people. 
Frequent  washings  were  associated  with  worship;  the 
beasts  that  were  naturally  or  by  experience  most  repug- 
nant or  injurious  as  human  food  were  put  under  the  ban 
as  unclean  meat.  No  unclean  thing,  no  clean  beast  if 
marred  in  any  wise,  could  be  offered  to  Jehovah  as  a  sac- 
rifice. All  offerings  were  without  blemish  and  without 
spot.*  Priests  were  required  to  be  physically  perfect 
men.f  Externally  they  were  clothed  in  garments  of 
finest  white  linen  on  which  no  stain  was  tolerated. 
Frequent  ablutions  were  compelled  in  all  their  ap- 
proaches to  the  altar  and  in  their  conduct  of  Divine  wor- 
ship.! In  this  manner,  advancing  along  the  thought 
that  in  the  human  mind  the  idea  of  cleanliness  lies  very 
near  to  godliness,  the  Hebrew  was  led  to  regard  sin 
as  a  moral  impurity,  most  hateful  to  God,  who  at  the 
same  time  was  held  before  him  in  all  this  symbolism  as 
a  Being  of  Infinite  Holiness. 

Above  all,  this  thought  was  held  before  the  Hebrew 
by  the  "sacrifices  of  the  altar.  A  Holy  God  cannot  suffer 
sin  to  go  without  punishment  or  propitiation.  Sin  must 
be  atoned  for.  This  fact  preserved  within  men  the  sense 
of  sin's  impurity;  it  preserved  that  sense  of  justice  in 
dealing  with  sin  without  which  righteousness  cannot  ex- 
ist ;  it  maintained  the  duty  of  every  soul  to  rise  out  of 
sin  daily  into  a  state  of  purity.  If  you  say  the  con- 
dition of  the  Hebrew  offerer  of  sacrifice  was  only  one  of 
legal  holiness,  even  if  admitted,  one  will  see  that  the 
sense  of  forensic  purity  before  God  was  well  calculated 
to  lift  up  the  soul  to  an  ideal ;  to  encourage  one  to  attain 
in  fact  his  status  in  law.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
something  more  than  this  resulted  from  the  sacrificial 
rite.  It  was  God's  ordinance  for  bestowing  upon  the 
penitent  an  impulse  towards  the  higher  life  as  well  as 
the  sense  of  a  legal  or  formal  purity. 

*See  Leviticus  generally,  especially  chapters  xi-xvi.  f  Lev.  xxi. 
17-21.     \  Numb.  xix.  7-22. 


i~4  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Let  us  not  dwell  longer  here.  These  sacrifices  of  the 
law  of  Israel  were  only  types  and  shadows  of  that  one 
Perfect  Sacrifice  which  was  to  come.  The  people  of 
those  early  generations  walked  upward  along  the  ages 
towards  that  sublime  Figure  lifted  upon  the  cross  of 
Mount  Calvary.  The  Church  of  the  Old  Testament 
moved  towards  the  Rising  Sun  of  a  Perfect  Faith  whose 
rays  touched  and  bathed  indeed  that  cross  of  Golgotha, 
but  left  only  its  great  shadow  stretching  backward,  with- 
in which  the  ages  ever  moved.  Yet  as  they  neared  the 
summit,  the  shadow  shortened  ;  and  when  at  last  in  the 
fullness  of  God's  own  time  the  True  Israel,  the  Holy 
People  stood  on  the  brow  of  Calvary  and  laid  their  hand 
upon  the  Cross  of  Jesus,  lo!  they  had  passed  from 
beneath  the  shadow!  for  the  perfect  day  had  come  and 
the  sun  shone  in  the  zenith.  Henceforth  the  Cross  shall 
cast  no  shadow!  Human  hopes  are  realized,  human 
faith  is  perfected,  shadows  and  types  have  ceased,  because 
Jesus  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  one  Sacrifice  for  sin,  has 
been  offered  upon  the  altar  of  the  Cross  once  for  all. 

This  is  the  point  to  which  we  are  come  to-day.  Here 
let  us  rest.  Faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  according 
to  the  appointment  of  God's  scheme  of  redemption. 

the  soul  from  the  guilt  of  sin.  God  pardons  for 
Christ's  sake  those  who  receive  the  work  and  offering  of 
Jesus  as  made  for  them,  but  the  gracious  gift  does  not 
-top  there.  It  is  impossible  for  men  to  receive  Jesus 
Christ  by  faith  without  also  receiving  the  Hoi}-  Ghost 
within  them  a  in  of  a  new  spiritual  life.      Salva- 

tion means  something  more.-  than  a  formal  pardon,  some- 
thing more  than  the  criminal's  acquittal  or  his  discharge 
from  the  judgment  of  law.  It  means  the  bestowment 
erminal  life- of  holiness  which  shall  develop  until 
til--  believer's  being  shall  Ik-  p.  •  th,  and  he 

become  in  fact  what  he  is  in  law,  purified  before  the 
eternal  God.  Justification  is  the  sinner's  legal  purifica- 
tion, it  purges  hi.  record  b<f' we  the  law.  Sanctificatioti 
i-  th--  actual  imparting  to  the  sinner  of  tin.-  germs  of 
purification,  insuring  for  him  the  ingrowth  and  out- 
growth of  a  character  and  life  which  shall  be  made  per- 
fect in  the  holiness  of  heaven. 


SM >  // -PL  RIT) -.-  HUMAN  PERFECTION.  175 

As  disciples  and  followers  of  Christ  we  are  called  to- 
day to  the  conflict  with  sin.  It  is  ours  to  stand  for 
whatsoever  things  are  pure,  lovely,  and  of  good  report. 
Man  has  fallen.  It  is  ours  to  raise  him.  This  is  a  lost 
world,  but,  thank  God !  it  is  also  a  found  world  since 
Christ  has  died.  It  is  our  duty  and  privilege  to  bring 
the  knowledge  of  this  gracious  truth  to  the  ears  of  the 
erring.  Most  men,  like  bottles  in  the  glass  blower's 
hand,  are  blown  into  shape  by  the  breath  of  other  men; 
and  some  are  vessels  to  honor  and  some  to  dishonor ; 
some  are  as  the  toper's  flask,  some  as  the  dandy's  per- 
fume bottle;  some  as  the  apothecary's  vial  to  bear  heal- 
ing medicine  to  the  sick.  Oh,  you  who  deal  with  the 
plastic  metal  of  mortal  and  immortal  souls,  take  heed 
how  you  breathe  within  them  and  upon  them  the  breath 
of  an  influence  that  shall  shape  their  destiny  for  all  time 
and  eternity  ! 

But  be  assured,  there  can  be  no  power  with  you  to 
shape  men  into  purity  of  life  until  you  yourself  have 
cleansed  your  soul  at  the  fountain  of  all  holiness.  If 
you  would  be  a  true  knight  of  virtue  you  must  first  re- 
ceive from  the  Divine  Master's  hand  the  stroke  and  sig- 
net of  your  knighthood.  Will  you  kneel  before  him 
here  and  now,  and  yield  you  to  the  high  chivalry  of 
holiness,  body  and  soul,  for  time  and  eternity?  Two 
ways  open  before  you,  the  service  of  Christ  in  purity  of 
heart  and  life,  or  the  service  of  self  in  sinful  continuance 
in  evil.  The  course  of  your  life  will  inevitably  be  di- 
rected by  the  nature,  inclination,  and  desires  of  your 
heart.  Buzzards  fly  to  a  carcass.  They  will  soar  aloft 
in  the  air,  most  beautiful  creatures  of  motion,  looking 
like  angels  in  the  upper  sky,  so  gracefully  do  they  move 
upon  their  spiral  courses.  But  let  the  sight  of  a  carcass 
on  the  plain  below  catch  the  eyes  of  the  graceful  things, 
and  at  once  they  swing  passionately  downward  and 
revel  in  the  body  of  uncleanness  and  death.  It  is  their 
nature — they  are  buzzards  ! 

Bees  fly  to  honey  !  All  day  long  they  hum  and  flutter 
over  beds  of  flowers  and  blossoming  vines,  passing  by 
whatever  of  unloveliness  may  lie  in  their  flight  to  settle 
always  within  the  cups  of  nectar-bearing  flowers.     Bees 


176  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NATURE. 

to  the  flowers  !  Buzzards  to  the  carcass  !  Spiritual 
honey-bearers  or  moral  scavengers  ?  Which  is  the  bet- 
ter object  in  this  God's  world  of  ours  ?  And  which  part, 
O  brother,  will  you  choose  ? 

While  the  pendulum  swings  the  clock  will  speak  out, 
tick-tock  from  the  wheels;  ding-dong  from  the  bell. 
It  may  speak  a  false  hour,  but  it  will  speak.  Life  is  that 
clock.  While  the  pulse  of  life  beats  on,  man  will  speak 
notes  of  guidance  and  truth,  notes  of  guidance  and 
error.  True  or  false,  one  or  the  other,  life  shall  give  its 
voice  into  the  world.  What  shall  it  be  ?  May  the  Di- 
vine Master  so  lay  his  hand  upon  the  delicate  wheels  of 
vour  being  that  they  shall  ever  keep  time  to  the  move- 
ment of  the  Heavens,  and  voice  forth  to  the  world  and 
show  forth  from  the  dial  of  your  daily  living  a  heart 
and  life  in  unison  with  the  Sun  of  Righteousness. 

Perhaps  I  am  speaking  to  some  one  to-day  who  is 
deeply  conscious  that  his  soul  is  stained  with  sin  and 
needs  a  Saviour  for  purification,  but  who  is  plunged  in 
deep  despondency.  "  Alas  !"  you  cry,  "  my  hope  is  per- 
ished. 1  am  lost.  My  sun  has  gone  down.  It  is  night 
with  me !"  Well,  yes,  it  is  night,  but  with  the  night  up 
come  the  stars ;  and  soon  also  the  moon,  full  and  fair, 
bathing  the  world  with  its  silver  glory.  Then,  by  and 
by,  lo  !  in  the  east  show  the  purple  streakings  of  dawn  ; 
and  see  !  there  is  the  day-spring  from  on  high,  the  up- 
risen sun,  once  more,  and  the  world  is  rosy  and  bright. 
So  human  hopes  rise  and  set;  they  give  way  to  lesser 
lights,  sometimes  to  greater;  sometimes  to  darkness. 
But  they  keep  on  and  on,  and  man  never  ceases  to  hope. 
Sweet  hope!  when  nights  have  ceased  to  darken,  when 
stars  and  moon  yield  no  more  radiance,  when  the  orb  of 
this  earthly  day  shall  rise  and  set  no  more,  then  in  the 
realm  of  eternal  hope  we  shall  bathe  our  souls  forever 
in  the  light  of  heaven,  whereof  the  Lamb  is  the  light, 
a  steady,  sweet,  glorious  shining  that  shall  never  waver 
nor  lessen,  but  shall  widen  as  the  years  of  eternity  roll. 


LECTURE   X. 


The  Rainfall. 

iiHe  shall  come  down   like   rain   upon  the  mozvn 
grass.^ — Psalm  lxxii.  6. 


THE  RAINFALL. 


The  allusions  to  rain  in  Holy  Scripture  are  very  fre- 
quent, as  one  would  expect  with  so  common  and  im- 
portant a  natural  phenomenon.  It  is  used  to  express 
figuratively  the  thoughts  of  inspired  writers,  in  a 
double  sense,  according  as  it  is  viewed  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  disadvantages,  dangers,  and  losses  which  it 
sometimes  involved,  or  the  blessings  resulting  from  it. 
For  example,  God  is  represented  as  a  covert  from  the 
rain  into  which  the  soul  has  fled  when  the  storm  beats 
upon  him.*  The  overflowing  shower  is  an  emblem  of  the 
Divine  judgment  upon  sinners, f  and  Divine  wrath  de- 
scending upon  the  godless  is  represented  under  the 
emblem  of  falling  rain. |  A  sweeping  rain  is  an  apt 
figure  of  a  needy  man  who  oppresses  his  poor  neighbor,§ 
and  the  continual  drop,  drop,  dropping  on  a  rainy  day 
beomes  in  the  Proverbialist's  mind  a  fitting  figure  of  a 
contentious  woman.  ||  Our  Saviour  uses  the  beating 
rains  and  floods  that  gather  in  the  dry  beds  of  streams 
after  heavy  showers,  to  represent  the  temptations,  griefs, 
and  cares  which  break  upon  the  souls  of  men,  destruct- 
ively in  the  case  of  those  who  "without  foundation" 
have  built  their  faith  upon  the  sands,  but  vainly  in  the 
case  of  those  who  have  reared  the  structure  of  their 
eternal  hope  upon  the  everlasting  rock  of  Christ's  truth. ^[ 

On  the  other  hand,  rain  is  frequently  used  as  the  em- 
blem of  all  that  is  blessed  and  desirable  in  both  temporal 
and  spiritual  things.  The  coming  of  the  "former"  and 
the  "  latter"  rains  is  constantly  viewed  in  Scripture  as 
the  realization  of  all  the  hopes  of  the  agriculturist. 
When  we  remember  that  Palestine  was  substantially  an 
agricultural  country,  even  more  of  a  farming  community 
than  the  United  States,  we  can  readily  see  how  much 


*Isa.  iv.  6.     fEzek.  xxxviii.  22.     J  Job  xx.  23.     I  Prov.  xxviii.  3. 
Prov.  xxvii.  15.    %  Matt.  vii.  25. 

(i79) 


1 80  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

this  meant.  In  the  song  of  Moses  "which  he  spake  in 
the  ears  of  all  the  Assembly  of  Israel  "  his  Heavenly  doc- 
trine is  represented  as  dropping  as  the  rain. 

My  doctrine  shall  drop  as  the  rain, 
My  Speech  shall  distill  as  the  dew  ; 
As  the  small  rain  on  the  tender  grass, 
And  as  showers  upon  the  herb. 

The  outgoing  Word  of  God  in  its  descent  upon  an 
expectant  people,  and  the  triumphant  and  joyful  accept- 
ance of  the  same,  is  represented  in  Isaiah  as  the  rain 
that  cometh  down  and  watereth  the  earth  and  maketh 
it  bring  forth  and  bud,  while  all  the  mountains  and  hills, 
glad  at  the  refreshing  showers,  break  forth  into  singing, 
and  the  trees  of  the  field  clap  hands. f  Job'  represents 
the  eagerness  with  which  his  retainers  and  neighbors 
awaited  his  coming  in  the  day  of  prosperity  as  like 
the  eagerness  with  which  the  farmer  looks  for  the 
fruitgiving  rains.|  In  Solomon's  Song  the  ceasing  of 
the  heavy  winter  showers  and  the  beginning  of  spring 
when  buds  are  opening,  and  flowers  blooming  and 
the  fragrance  of  blossoming  grapevines  fills  the  air, 
is  an  emblem  of  that  period  in  the  soul's  history  when 
one  is  born  into  the  new  life,  and  all  heaven  and 
earth  seem  to  be  rejoicing  in  sympathy  therewith. § 
These  are  some  of  the  lessons  which  the  inspired  writers 
have  enfolded  within  the  phenomenon  n\  the  tailing  rain. 
We  shall  have  something  to  do  with  them  hereafter;  but 
the  lesson  which  we  have  to  learn  to-day  from  the  rain- 
fall is  the  Manifestation  of  Divine  Power  in  the  coming 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  lesson  will  perhaps  best  be  indi- 
cated by  reading  the  whole  passage  from  which  our  text 
is  taken. 

1  Give  to  the  king  Thy  judgments,  OGod, 
And  Thy  righteousness  unto  the  king's  son  ! 

2  Let  1  liiu  govern  Thy  people  with  righteousn* 
And  judge  thine  afflicted  withjusti<  e. 

3  Let  the  mountains  bring  peace  to  the  people, 
And  the  hills  bring  peace  by  righteousness. 

.;    Lei  him  judge  the  poor  of  the  people. 
I  ..t  him  save  the  children  of  the  n< 
And  break  in  pieces  the  oppressor! 

Mkut.  xxxii.  2.     (-Isa.  lv.  10,1a.    tjob  wrix.  23.     {Canticles 

ii.  11-13. 


THE  RAINFALL.  l8l 

5  May  they  have  Thee  in  fear  while  the  sun  endures 
And  while  the  moon  shineth, — to  all  generations  ! 

6  May  He  come  down  like  rain  on  the  grass  of  the  meadow, 
As  showers,  as  downpouring  rain  upon  earth. 

7  In  His  days  may  the  righteous  ones  blossom  unhindered, 
And  fullness  of  peace,  till  the  moon  be  no  more ; 

S     May  He  have  the  dominion  from  sea  to  sea, 
And  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.* 

The  beautiful  imagery  of  this  Psalm  presents  to  us  a 
picture  of  the  coming  of  the  Christ  to  exercise  his  do- 
minion upon  earth.  The  descending  rains  renovate  the 
whole  surface  of  the  land  and  exercise  a  sovereign  in- 
fluence upon  the  vegetable  kingdom;  they  quicken 
seeds  to  life,  develop  grain  and  fruits,  reclothe  fields, 
vineyards,  and  forests,  and  spread  blessings  everywhere 
for  the  children  of  men.  So  in  the  vision  of  the  pro- 
phetic Psalmist  should  it  be  when  Messiah  should  come. 
He  would  dominate  the  souls  of  men;  society  should  be 
renovated ;  the  world  should  bend  to  the  yoke  of  his 
thought;  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  utmost  seas, 
and  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  his 
spiritual  sceptre  should  extend  and  bless  the  children  of 
men.  This  then  is  the  thought  upon  which  we  are  to 
dwell,  the  power  of  Christ  in  renovating  society. 

I.  The  prediction  of  the  Psalmist  has  been  fulfilled. 
The  manifestation  of  Jesus  in  the  world  has  been  with 
Mighty  Power  for  the  Subjugation  of  our  race.  We  are 
not  thinking  of  physical  power  alone,  the  might  of  war, 
the  strength  of  numbers,  the  potency  of  wealth,  com- 
merce and  culture,  but  of  the  power  of  Purity  and  Love, 
of  Religious  Truth  and  the  Spiritual  Life.  We  shall 
presently  trace  some  striking  examples  of  this  Christ 
Sovereignty  over  men;  but  let  us  first  turn  to  the  book 
of  nature  for  such  facts  as  may  lie  hidden  within  the 
metaphor  of  the  Psalmist,  and  which  may  show  us  what 
an  idea  of  power  the  rainfall  is  competent  to  express. 
"Unto  the  place,"  says  the  wise  Preacher,  "whence 
the  rivers  come,  thither  they  return  again. "f  In  other 
words,  the  waters  of  the  Amazon,  Mississippi,  St.  Law- 

*  Ps.  lxxii.  i-8.     f  Eccl.  i.  7. 


i  82  rni:  <;<  >s /•/:/.  in  x.  i  TL  re. 

rence,  of  all  the  great  rivers  of  America,  Europe,  and 
Asia,  are  lifted  up  by  the  atmosphere,  and  are  con- 
tinually flowing  in  invisible  vapor  streams  back  through 
the  air  to  their  sources  among  the  hills. 

Moreover,  these  invisible  channels  through  which  they 
flow  are  so  regular,  certain,  and  well  defined  that  the 
quantity  thus  conveyed  oneyearwith  the  other  is  nearly 
the  same,  inasmuch  as  the  amount  of  water  discharged 
annually  by  each  river  is,  as  far  as  can  be  judged,  nearly 
constant.  In  view  of  this  general  statement  we  may 
form  some  conception  of  what  a  powerful  machine  the 
atmosphere  must  be;  and  though  it  is  apparently  so 
capricious  and  wayward  in  its  movements,  we  see  further 
that  it  gives  evidence  of  order  and  arrangement,  that  it 
performs  its  mighty  office  with  regularity  and  certainty, 
and  is  therefore  as  obedient  to  law  as  is  the  steam-engine 
to  the  will  of  its  builder.  Indeed,  as  Lieut.  Maury  has 
remarked,  it  too  is  an  engine.  The  South  Seas  them- 
selves with  their  vast  intertropical  extent  are  the  boiler 
tor  that  atmospheric  engine, and  the  northern  hemisphere 
c<  mdenser. 

Let  us  pass  from  this  general  statement  to  particulars, 
for  which  I  am  indebted  to  one  of  our  own  citi/.en-,  Mr. 
John  Birkinbine,  engineer.  Not  to  weary  you  with 
Statistics  and  details,  I  will  limit  my  illustrations  to  facts 
concerning  the  rainfall  over  the  surface  of  Philadelphia 
alone,  which  is  equal  to  about  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  and  one-third  square  miles  (accuratel)  1 2 
square  miles).  According  to  observations  at  the  Penn- 
sylvania Hospital,  the  <  rainfall  over  the  area  ol 
Philadelphia  for  fifty-!  irs  was  forty-five  and  ninc- 
hundredths  inches  or  thre  I  hundred 
and  sixty-six  thousandths  The  a\  mount 
of  rain  tailing  upon  the  city  is  therefore  equal  to  nearly 
one  hundred  and  two  billions  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  millions  of  net  tons  weight.      This  is  about   th 

the  weight  of  the  output  of  anthracite  coal   in  the 

of  Pennsylvania  during  the  year  of  our  Lord  1886, 
that  output  having  been  thirty-three  millions  of 

•Libut.Mai  tions,"  vol.  I.,  1858,  page  at. 


THE  RAINFALL.  1 83 

tons.  It  is  more  than  seventy-five  times  as  much  as  the 
greatest  annual  production  of  iron  in  the  State,  which 
was  nearly  five  and  three-quarter  millions  of  gross 
tons. 

Descending  from  the  annual  rainfall  to  the  estimate  of 
a  single  heavy  rain,  we  have  these  startling  facts  :  On 
August  4th,  1885,  there  was  a  rainfall  of  four  and  forty- 
six  hundredths  inches.  That  means  a  downfall  of  more 
than  ten  billions  of  gallons  upon  the  area  of  Philadel- 
phia, weighing  forty-two  millions  of  tons.  That  single 
rain  therefore  deposited  on  the  area  of  our  city  a  weight 
of  water  greater  by  over  twelve  per  cent,  than  the  total 
amount  of  anthracite  coal  mined  in  1886,  or  more  than 
one-half  of  the  weight  of  the  total  crop  of  corn,  wheat, 
and  oats  in  the  United  States  during  the  same  year. 

The  automatic  recording  water-gauge  connected  with 
the  office  of  the  Water  Department  at  Thirteenth  and 
Spring  Garden  streets,  Philadelphia,  showed  that  on  the 
morning  of  November  18th,  1886,  fifty-two  hundredths 
or  about  one-half  an  inch  of  rain  fell  in  nine  minutes. 
Such  a  rainfall  over  the  area  of  Philadelphia  is  equiva- 
lent to  a  flow  of  two  hundred  and  ninety  thousand  cubic 
feet  per  second,  which  is  fifteen  thousand  feet  per  second 
more  than  the  average  flow  of  water  over  the  Falls  of 
Niagara.  Think  of  it,  a  little  summer  dash  like  that 
sets  loose  upon  our  roof-tops  and  streets  a  greater 
stream  than  pours  from  the  mighty  cataract  of  Niagara. 
Well  may  the  street  contractors  bless  the  helpful  rain 
that  supplements  their  lagging  efforts  to  fulfill  their 
obligations  to  the  city.  Yet  more  may  suffering  citizens 
bless  the  healthful  showers  that  sweep  our  streets,  flush 
our  sewers,  purge  our  gutters,  and  bring  us  blessings  of 
health  and  purity. 

If  you  are  not  wearied  with  these  immense  sums,  per- 
mit me  to  take  one  further  example  from  the  facts  pro- 
cured for  us  by  our  patient  engineer.  The  total  weight 
of  water  in  the  atmosphere  surrounding  the  whole  earth 
is  estimated  at  the  enormous  figure  of  fifty-four  thou- 
sand four  hundred  and  sixty  billions  of  tons.  Of  such 
a  weight  we  can  form  no  conception,  much  less  realize 
how  it  can  be  held  in  suspension,  and  moved  back  and 


1 84  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  'RE. 

forth  through  the  channels  appointed  for  its  distribution 
and  circulation.  But  that  problem,  as  we  have  seen,  has 
been  solved  by  the  Almighty  Mind  and  Power  back  of 
all  nature's  operations,  and  some  elements  of  the  forces 
which  enter  into  the  solution  we  are  able  at  least  ap- 
proximately to  determine.  It  is  probable  that  the  great- 
est proportion,  perhaps  five-tenths,  of  this  vapory  ocean 
within  the  atmosphere,  is  confined  within  a  stratum  or 
belt  reaching  to  the  height  of  six  thousand  five  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  level.  Let  us,  however,  assume  the 
average  height  to  which  the  vapor  that  is  distilled  upon 
Philadelphia  as  rain  must  be  elevated  from  its  source  in 
the  ocean,  lakes,  and  running  streams,  to  be  ten  thousand 
feet.  Let  us  further  take  the  familiar  standard  of  thirty- 
three  thousand  pounds  raised  through  one  foot  of 
height  per  minute  as  equal  to  one  horse-power.  We 
shall  then  reach  the  conclusion  that  to  raise  the  amount 
of  water  contained  in  one  inch  of  rainfall  over  the  area 
of  Philadelphia  to  a  height  of  ten  thousand  feet  requires 
nearly  four  millions  of  horse-power. 

Have  you  any  idea  of  the  force  represented  in  this 
sum  total  ?  It  is  greater  than  the  total  amount  of  steam 
and  water  power  employed  in  all  the  manufacturing 
establishments  of  the  United  States  as  reported  at  the 
last  census.  So  that  the  entire  manufacturing  industry 
of  the  republic  has  not  sufficient  power  connected  with 
it  to  raise  in  one  day  the  water  represented  by  one  inch  of 
rainfall  upon  the  area  of  Philadelphia.  This  means  that 
the  whole  steam  and  water  power  of  the  United  States,  if 
working  together  to  that  one  end,  could  not  furnish 
more  than  twelve  per  cent,  or  one-eighth  of  the  force 
-ary  to  elevate  the  amount  of  rain  which  has  fallen 
in  one  day  over  the  area  of  Philadelphia. 

Take  another  comparison.  If  we  go  back  to  that  No- 
vember dash  of  rain  during  which  a  little  over  one-half 
inch  of  water  fell  in  nine  minutes,  we  find  that  to  raise 
an  equal  amount  in  the   same  time   to  the   height  of  ten 

thousand  feet,  would  require  the  development  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  millions  horse-power!  In 
other  words, the  entire  force  which  the  cataract  of  Niag- 
ara could  produce  in  nine  hours  would  be  scarcely  suffi- 


THE  RAINFALL.  1 85 

cient  to  elevate  to   cloud   level  the  water  which   fell   on 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  nine  minutes* 

I  confess  that  when  I  first  read  these  figures  I  was 
filled  with  amazement  at  the  vast  amount  of  power  exer- 
cised by  the  sunbeams — for  it  all  amounts  to  that — in 
pumping  up  vapor  of  water  into  the  clouds,  and  the 
equally  vast  power  which  is  represented  in  the  natural 
force  or  forces  that  reduce  this  vapor  of  water  and  cause 
its  precipitation  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  Yet  why 
should  we  be  surprised?  At  whatever  point  we  may 
touch  nature  we  shall  find  that  it  gives  forth  like  facts  to 
careful  observation,  intelligent  thought,  and  the  skillful 
hand.  But  I  must  pass  now  from  these  statistics,  to 
those  great  spiritual  lessons  towards  which  our  thoughts 
are  tending,  and  for  which  alone  these  facts  are  here 
of  paramount  value  to  us.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  the 
Psalmist  who  used  the  rainfall  as  a  figure  of  the  do- 
minion of  the  Christ,  knew  what  vast  ideas  of  force  were 
covered  up  within  his  metaphor?  Not  at  all;  doubt- 
less the  inspired  writers  were  often  but  dimly  conscious 
of  the  great  truths  which  they  uttered  in  types  and 
shadows,  in  parable  and  figure  of  speech.  But  never- 
theless, the  truth  lay  within  their  imagery  and  was  known 
to  the  Divine  Mind.  History  unfolded  the  meaning  as 
the  years  rolled  on,  and  we  to-day  may  see  better  even 
than  the  prophets  saw  'the  sublime  facts  that  lay  con- 
cealed within  their  words.  With  our  fuller  view  of  the 
natural  force  expended  by  the  rainfall  and  knowledge  of 
the  History  of  Christianity,  we  may  here  affirm  that  the 
Psalmist's  prediction  as  declared  under  the  imagery  of 
the  descending  rain  has  been  more  than  fulfilled.  It  was 
a  new  manifestation  of  power  made  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  power  of  religious  life,  the  power  of  an  im- 
mortal hope,  the  power  of  holiness  in  the  soul.  The 
world  learned  through  Christianity  as  it  never  had  con- 
ceived before  the  kingship  of  the  simple  truth,  the 
potency  of  purity,  of  love,  of  all  spiritual  ideas  to  sway 
the  thinking  and  lives  of  men,  and  so  in  the  end  to  bring 
nations  into  obedience  to  the  sceptre  of  the  Divine 
Teacher.     We  turn  to  History  for  examples  of  this  fact. 

*See  a  paper  bv  Mr.  John  Birkinbine  in  "Franklin  Institute 
Journal,"  vol.  CXXIII.,  No.  735. 


1 86  THE  GOSPEL  >IN  NA  Tl  'RE. 

i.  Christianity  showed  its  power  by  revolutionizing 
society  as  to  the  nature  and  standing  of  woman.  The 
bonds  of  a  thousand  generations  fixed  in  the  customs, 
laws,  religion,  and  perhaps  more  strongly  still,  in  the 
passions  and  avarice  of  men,  were  broken  by  the  new- 
power  manifest  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  There  was  not 
a  nation  of  the  ancient  world,  with  the  single  exception 
of  the  Hebrews,  among  whom  women,  as  a  class,  held 
an  honorable  position,  or  in  any  wise  approached  com- 
panionship with  man.  Solon,  the  wise  Greek,  viewed 
woman  as  a  household  drudge,  with  whom  rational  inter- 
course and  friendship  were  impossible.  Aristotle  re- 
garded women  as  intermediate  between  freemen  and 
slaves.  The  greatest  of  Hellenic  philosophers  declared 
that  state  radically  disordered  in  which  wives  should 
claim  to  be  equals  of  their  husbands.  Plato  even  went 
so  far  as  to  suggest  a  community  of  wives  on  the  ground 
that  children  so  brought  into  life  would  be  wholly  de- 
voted to  the  state.  Grecian  women  purchased  the  right 
to  frequent  public  lectures, 'and  associate  on  terms  of 
equality  with  artists  and  scholars,  only  at  the  costliest 
price  conceivable — their  virtue.  At  Syracuse  no  free 
woman  was  allowed  to  go  out  after  sunset  except  for 
immoral  purposes.  A  woman  was  regarded  always  as 
a  minor  and  never  free.  Pericles  said  that  her  glory  was 
that  no  one  should  speak  to  her.  Such  was  the  stand- 
ing of  women  with  that  people  who  were  peerless  in 
art,  letters,  and  philosophy. 

The  same  opinions  and  customs  substantial ly  pre- 
vailed among  the  Romans.  It  was  a  fundamental  con- 
ception <>f  the  law  at  Rome  that  woman  should  never  be 
independent.  The  legal  status  of  the  wife  was  that  of  a 
iter,  the  sister  of  her  own  children.  Her  property 
became  her  husband's.  Her  consent  was  not  necessary 
to  the  marriage  of  her  daughters.  The  husband  had  at 
least  a  qualified  power  over  her  life  for  even  petty  of- 
fenses. She  could  not  after  his  death  be  the  legal  guard- 
ian of  her  own  infant  children.  Habitual  and  contempt- 
uous distrust  of  the  sex  was  in  the  very  life  of  the 
governing  classes.  It  ruled  custom,  shaped  statutes, 
and   entered  with   depraved   and   dominating  force   the 


THE  RAINFALL.  1 87 

highest  minds.*  She  was  the  slave  and  toy  of  man, 
rarely  his  friend  and  companion,  and  never  received 
honor,  as  Christian  women  count  honor,  except  in  the 
case  of  the  vestal  virgins.  With  the  laws  and  customs 
of  society  thus  hardly  discriminating  against  her,  it  is 
not  strange  that  the  cruel  foot  of  the  strong  sex  had 
trampled  her  moral  and  intellectual  nature  into  the  very 
mud  of  an  unspeakable  social  impurity,  the  crudest 
wrong  of  all,  and  the  most  fatal  in  its  consequences  to 
the  nation. 

If  Rome  and  Greece,  foremost  of  the  pagan  nations 
in  point  of  civilization,  maintained  this  attitude  towards 
women,  you  may  readily  conceive  what  was  her  position 
amongst  the  other  nations  of  the  world  at  the  time  that 
the  Son  of  God  became  incarnate.  What  was  the  atti- 
tude of  Christ  and  his  apostles  towards  women  ?  We 
know  that  "  The  Women  Friends  of  Jesus"  were  among 
his  most  trusted  and  beloved  followers.  They  were 
honored  with  his  friendship,  they  received  equally  with 
their  men  friends  the  lessons  of  saving  truth  and  wis- 
dom which  he  spake.  His  attitude  towards  the  sex  was 
always  and  everywhere  one  of  helpfulness  and  equality. 
His  utterance  upon  marriage  and  divorce  was  a  law  of 
emancipation,  and  drew  a  protecting  barrier  around 
wifehood  and  motherhood.  It  sealed  the  sanctity  of 
marriage.  It  proclaimed  with  divine  sanction  the  law 
of  monogamy,  the  right  of  one  man  to  one  wife  only — 
the  right  of  every  wife  to  her  husband  alone. 

This  position  was  maintained  by  the  apostles  of 
Jesus.  St.  Paul  was  the  most  conspicuous  champion 
of  womankind  among  the  founders  of  Christianity.  He 
declared  her  equal  with  man  before  Christ.  He  labored 
for  her  conversion  equally  with  that  of  man.  The  first 
converts  made  by  him  in  Europe  were  women.  He  gave 
them  a  place  in  the  Church  as  fellow-laborers,  sharers 
even  of  the  offices  of  the  Church.  The  names  of  Lydia, 
Phoebe,  Priscilla,  the  elect  lady,  and  numbers  of  others 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  with  honor  and  ap- 
plause show  how  Paul  and  the  primitive  Christians,  in 

*  Dr.  Storrs — "The  Divine  Origin  of  Christianity  Indicated 
by  its  Historical  Effects,"  pages  148,  sqq. 


1 88  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TL  RE. 

obedience  to  their  Master's  law,  were  revolutionizing 
the  ideas  and  customs  of  the  pagan  world  concerning 
the  nature  and  standing  of  woman. 

Indeed  this  action  was  the  logical  result  of  a  funda- 
mental principle  of  Christianity,  viz.,  that  spiritual  pow- 
ers arc  more  than,  or  at  least  equal  to  mere  physical 
force;  that  the  standard  of  one's  position  before  God 
and  in  the  Church  is  neither  sex,  nor  wealth,  nor  cul- 
ture, nor  social  standing — but  spiritual  estate  and  attain- 
ments. Before  the  tribunal  of  Christian  law  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female,  bond  nor  free,  Jew  nor  Gentile, 
barbarian  nor  Scythian — all  arc  one  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Women  therefore  were  honored,  loved,  and  respected, 
because  they  possessed  gifts  of  heart  and  mind  equally 
with  man,  although  they  were  not  equal  in  point  of  bare 
physical  force.  This  germinal  thought,  which  at  once 
lifted  society  beyond  the  standard  of  mere  brute  force, 
and  fixed  for  the  ideal  of  humanity  a  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual character,  operated  inevitably  to  the  exaltation 
of  womankind.  All  this  seems  very  simple  and  easy  as 
we"  state  it  here.  Christianity  has  educated  us  to  regard 
principles  as  the  simplest  social  axioms.  We  take 
them  as  a  matter  of  course.  We  can  hardly  conceive 
how  it  had  ever  been  or  ever  could  have  been  other- 
wise; yet  it  was  not  without  a  mighty  struggle  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  slowly  permeated  mankind, 
weakened  and  at  last  broke  the  fetters  of  female  oppres- 
sion, and  lifted  woman  to  the  place  where  Christ  had 
appointed  and  would  keep  her,  side  by  sick'  with  man, 
both  in  the  Church  of  the  Living  God  and  "the  Church 
that    is  within    the   lv  Think   how  much   was   in- 

volved in  this!  It  is  absolutely  certain  that  under  ev<  ry 
ol  society  the  mind  of  women  must  shape  the 
character  of  childhood.  As  the  child  is  but  the  "  father 
of  the  man,"  a  degenerate  mother  means  degenerate 
children,  degenerate  society,  a  degenerafc  Hut 

woman  exalted,  refined,  purified,  means  the  placing  of  a 
nerating  and  savii  at  the  very  fountains  of  a 

nation's  worth.  This  Christ  has  done  for  women,  this 
He  has  done  for  the  world. 

It  is  not  strange  that  in  all  ages  i4~  the  world  Jesus  of 


THE  RAINFALL.  1 89 

Nazareth  has  counted  among  his  most  devoted  followers 
those  who  have  received  from  his  hands  such  inestima- 
ble blessings.  Surely  if  ever  Christianity  is  threatened 
by  lax  laws  concerning  the  Sabbath,  by  laws  that  break 
down  the  sanctity  of  marriage  relations,  by  the  progress 
of  scepticism  and  irreligion,  woman's  voice  should  be 
the  first  to  raise  the  cry  of  alarm,  and  woman's  hand 
should  first  advance  the  standard  of  Christ  and  rally  to 
its  defense.  It  is  not  strange  that  among  the  warmest 
friends  of  Foreign  Missions  are  Christian  women,  whose 
hearts  go  out  in  tender  pity  towards  their  sisters  in 
pagan  lands  still  oppressed  by  customs  and  laws  such 
as  degraded  the  nations  in  the  days  of  Jesus.  "Woman's 
work  for  women"  is  wrought  by  a  lofty  love  for  Jesus, 
by  a  sense  of  gratitude  for  what  He  has  done  for  them, 
and  by  the  profoundest  sisterly  sympathy  with  those 
whose  bonds  are  yet  unbroken,  and  who  never  can  feel 
the  joy  of  deliverance  until  the  mighty  power  of  Jesus 
shall  come  down  for  the  renovation  of  society  like  rain 
upon  the  wilderness. 

2.  Nothing  perhaps  gives  us  abetter  idea  of  the  moral 
condition  of  a  nation  than  the  character  of  its  general 
amusements.  The  pleasures  of  Rome  for  many  years  were 
excited  by  scenes  of  slaughter.  The  Roman  gladiatorial 
combats  stand  well  nigh  alone  and  unequaled  in  human 
history  for  ferocity.  The  Coliseum,  pictures  of  whose 
ruins  are  in  many  of  your  homes,  which  is  the  most 
imposing  and  characteristic  relic  of  pagan  Rome,  was 
simply  a  theatre  for  the  slaughter  of  human  beings  as  a 
pastime,  an  amusement  not  only  for  the  populace,  but 
the  noble  men  and  ladies  of  high  rank.  These  gladia- 
tors were  trained  athletes,  captives  of  war,  for  the  most 
part,  who  fought  each  other  to  death  in  the  arena  with 
net,  dagger,  lance,  trident,  and  swords  ground  to  the 
finest  edge  and  point.  At  the  triumph  of  Aurelian  eight 
hundred  pairs  of  gladiators  fought.  During  the  games 
of  Trajan  ten  thousand  men  thus  fought.  Even  female 
gladiators  contended  with  -each  other.  Sea  battles  were 
arranged,  as  by  Caesar,  Augustus,  and  memorably  by 
Claudius,  who  sent  two  fleets  with  nineteen   thousand 


190  THE  GOSPEL  IX  X ATI' RE. 

men  upon  them  to  a  desperate  contest  on  Lake  Fucinus, 
for  the  mere  amusement  of  the  throngs  of  spectators 
covering  the  surrounding  shores.  Christians  and  other 
condemned  prisoners  were  sometimes  burned  in  shirts  of 
pitch  to  illuminate  the  gardens,  or  were  hung  on  crosses 
and  left  to  be  torn  by  famished  bears  for  the  amusement 
of  the  populace.  These  horrible  entertainments  were 
varied  by  conflicts  of  wild  beasts.  Under  Nero  four 
hundred  tigers  fought  with  elephants  and  bulls.  At  the 
dedication  of  the  Coliseum  by  Titus  five  thousand 
animals  were  killed.  "There  is  scarcely  one  element  of 
horror,"  says  Dr.  Storrs,  "  which  can  be  conceived  in 
man's  wildest  dreams  which  was  not  presented  as  a 
matter  of  luxury  to  make  complete  the  '  Roman  Holi- 
day'  at  the  time  when  Christianity  entered  the  capital."* 
Shocking  as  these  details  must  be  to  your  sensibilities, 
I  have  only  culled  from  authentic  sources  those  which 
are  least  horrifying.  Remember  now  that  these  atrocities 
were  not  simply  sporadic,  occasional  events,  the  result 
of  some  wild  outburst  of  passion,  prejudice,  or  bigotry. 
They  were  the  habitual  amusements  of  the  people.  From 
the  highest  to  the  lowest  they  were  indulged  in  and 
enjoyed  to  the  full.  Amongst  those  who  constantly  wit- 
nessed them,  and  for  whom  seats  were  always  reserved, 
were  representatives  of  illustrious  families,  .senators, 
judges,  philosophers,  poets,  ladies  of  highest  rank  and 
breeding.  Even  the  vestal  virgins  in  their  sacred  dress 
came  there  and  sat  in  seats  of  honor  to  gaze  upon  the 
gladiatorial  "  shows."  The  whole  nation  was  mad  after 
these  scenes  of  blood.  Men  and  women,  noble  and  base, 
all  and  all  alike  gloated  over  and  glutted  their  cruel 
hearts  upon  deeds,  the  bare  recital  of  which  excites  in 
us  emotions  of  horror.  In  holiday  garb,  surrounded  by 
gay  tapestry,  amid  festoons  of  flowers  and  statues  of 
gods,  while  particolored  awnings  shone  in  the  sun,  and 
bright  decorations  fluttered  in  the  wind,  these  women 
and  men  laughed,  applauded,  and  shouted  with  joy  to 
see  these  scores,  hundreds,  thousands  of  their  fellow- 
creatures  solely  for  the  sport  of  spectators  mutilating, 


*  "  The  Divine  Origin  of  Christianity,"  page  259. 


THE  RAINFALL.  191 

slaying  each  other  in  the  space  beneath  them,  until  the 
arena  ran  red  with  blood  I 

The  control  of  the  civilized  world  was  centered  in  the 
Empire  of  Rome.  The  destinies  of  Rome  were  in  the 
hands  of  one  man — Augustus  Caesar.  He  was  at  once 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  the  head  of  the  Sen- 
ate abjectly  obedient  to  his  will,  and  the  Pontifex  Maxi- 
mus  of  the  state  religion.  The  population  of  the  capi- 
tal city  numbered  two  millions,  one  part  of  whom  lived 
in  misery,  the  other  in  almost  boundless  luxury.  Well 
nigh  one-half  were  slaves,  and  of  the  rest  the  greater 
part  were  either  freedmen  or  their  descendants,  or  for- 
eigners. Bad  as  we  know  slavery  to  be  from  our  own 
bitter  experience  with  African  bondage,  it  was  far  worse 
in  Rome.  Slaves  were  entirely  unprotected.  Males  and 
females  were  exposed  to  nameless  cruelties  compared  to 
which  death  by  being  thrown  to  wild  beasts  in  the  arena 
might  seem  absolute  relief.  Sick  and  old  slaves  were 
cast  out  to  perish  from  want.  The  familiar  story,  which 
has  been  woven  into  well-known  verses  by  one  of  our 
poets,  of  Parrhasius  torturing  to  death  a  slave  that  he 
might  have  a  model  from  which  to  put  the  true  expres- 
sion of  a  dying  man  upon  his  picture  of  Prometheus 
chained  to  the  rocks  of  Mount  Caucasus,  is  not  bare 
fancy,  but  an  apt  expression  of  the  actual  condition  of 
the  relation  between  Roman  masters  and  slaves.  On 
the  one  side  was  uncontrolled  cruelty  and  oppression, 
on  the  other  unendurable  hate,  cunning,  and  corruption. 
The  freedmen,  who  had  often  acquired  their  liberty  by  the 
most  disreputable  courses  and  had  prospered  in  them, 
combined  in  shameless  manner  the  vices  of  the  free  with 
the  vileness  of  the  slave.  The  foreigners  poisoned  the 
springs  of  life  yet  more  by  the  corruption  which  they 
brought  with  them.  The  free  citizens  were  idle,  dissi- 
pated, sunken,  engrossed  mainly  with  the  sports  of  the 
arena.  They  were  mostly  supported  at  the  public  cost, 
or  were  the  clients,  mere  camp  followers  or  paid  re- 
tainers of  great  men. 

Heartlessness  towards  the  poor  who  crowded  the  city 
was  a  well-known  feature  of  ancient  Roman  society. 
There  was  absolutely  no  provision  for  them.     Hospitals 


192  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

were  unthought  of.  Charity  was  a  word  yet  unborn. 
To  bestow  alms  upon  the  needy  was  regarded  as  only 
affording  them  the  means  of  protracting  a  useless  exist- 
ence. The  only  escape  that  remained  for  these,  and  for 
all  other  miserables  of  the  era,  was  self-destruction,  and 
this  was  not  only  freely  advised,  but  the  terrible  power 
was  as  freely  exercised. 

A  few  noble  spirits  of  the  times  felt  that  this  state  of 
things  was  utterly  hopeless.  Society  could  not  reform 
itself.  Philosophy  and  religion  had  nothing  to  offer  ; 
they  had  been  tried  and  found  wanting.  Seneca  longed 
for  some  hand  from  without  to  lift  up  society  from  the 
mire  of  despair.  '  Cicero  pictures  the  enthusiasm  which 
would  meet  the  embodiment  of  true  virtue  should  it 
ever  appear  on  earth.  Tacitus  declared  human  life  one 
great  farce,  and  expressed  his  conviction  that  the  Roman 
world  lay  under  some  terrible  curse.* 

Had  religion  no  word  to  speak  against  such  deeds  ? 
No !  This  oppression,  impurity,  and  cruelty  were  wrought 
under  the  sanctions  of  religion. 

Historians  well  know,  although  the  people  do  not 
perhaps  often  think  of  it,  that  the  deities  of  the  nations 
among  whom  the  Gospel  was  first  preached,  as  Romans 
and  Grecians,  were  notoriously  selfish,  cruel,  and  im- 
moral. We  dare  not  sully  the  ears  of  innocence  by 
naming  the  character  and  service  of  some  of  their  gods. 
Their  worship  was  sin, a  mania  of  lust;  of  their  temples 
it  could  be  said,  "  Her  house  is  the  way  of  hell,  going 
down  to  the  chambers  of  death."  A  great  horror  fills 
the  soul  as  one  thinks  that  these -were  the  gods  whom 
children  and  youth,  young  men  and  maidens,  matrons 
and  men  were  taught  to  adore. 

The  only  religion  on  which  the  state  insisted  was  the 
deification  and  worship  of  the  emperor.  Not  only  em- 
perors, but  their  wives,  paramours,  children,  and  the 
creatures    of  their    vilest    lusts    were    deified.      Nay,  any 

private  person  might  attain  that  distinction  if  the  sur- 
vivors possessed  sufficient  means.  The  most  abject 
superstition    dominated   the  fears  of  the  populace.      The 

brshbim — " The  Life  ami  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah." 
Vol  I.,  page  15$- 


THE  RAINFALL.  1 93 

priests  practiced  unblushing  impostures  upon  the  people. 
Superstition  and  fraud  went  hand  in  hand  with  blas- 
phemy, and  one  might  read  everywhere  such  sentiments 
as  this  inscribed  upon  the  tomb  of  a  child,  "  To  the 
unjust  gods  who  robbed  me  of  life  ;  "  or  this  on  the  tomb 
of  a  girl  of  twenty,  "  I  lift  my  hands  against  the  god 
who  took  me  away  innocent  as  I  am."  *  The  idea  of 
conscience,  as  we  understand  it,  was  unknown  to  this 
seething  mass  of  heathenism.  Absolute  right  did  not 
exist.     Might  was  right. 

We  must  keep  before  us  this  picture  of  the  world  to 
which  Christ  came,  and  we  would  have  a  just  view  of  the 
meaning  to  the  men  and  women  of  that  era  of  such 
Scriptures  as  these:  "The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek 
and  to  save  tJiativliicli  is  lost  /"  f  "  Pure  religion  and  un- 
defined before  God  and  the  Father  is  this,  to  visit  the 
fatherless  and  the  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep 
himself  unspotted  from  the  world."  X 

Conceive,  if  you  can,  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Evangel 
to  such  a  people.  Think  how  its  presentation  of  an  in- 
finitely Holy  God,  who  could  look  upon  sin  with  no  de- 
gree of  allowance,  must  have  been  regarded.  Imagine 
what  a  revolution  in  all  their  thinking  upon  the  Divine 
and  moral  duty  must  have  followed  the  acceptance  of  the 
doctrine  and  worship  of  a  Saviour,  who  demanded  Love, 
Kindness,  Peace,  Purity!  The  Gospel  of  Christ  was 
not  only  a  revelation,  but  a  revolution.  It  emancipated 
Woman.  It  gave  Childhood  a  holy  status  in  society. 
It  quenched  in  Brotherly  Love  the  cruelty  of  the  arena. 
It  enthroned  Purity  in  the  home  and  Sanctuary.  It  lift- 
ed Religion  from  the  mire,  and  reclothed  her  with  Holi- 
ness and  Authority.  It  built  an  altar  for  Faith  upon  the 
human  heart,  and  amid  the  ashes  of  despair  rekindled 
the  Hope  of  a  blessed  Immortality.  It  conquered  hu- 
man prejudice  and  passions  as  they  had  never  been  sub- 
dued before,  and  that  in  their  deadliest  array  within 
their  strongest  citadel.  All  this  the  Gospel  did;  and 
this  it  did  by  the  Power  of  Jesus  the  Christ.  Yes,  from 
the  midst  of  the  wreck   of  the  hoary  and  colossal  in- 

*Edersheim — "The  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus."  f  Luke  xix.  10. 
J  James  i.  27. 


194  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

iquitics  of  the  age,  the  voices  of  Christ's  iocs  might  be 
heard  saluting  the  Church  rising  in  glorious  form  from 
out  the  ruins,  and  crying  in  the  language  of  the  apos- 
tate Julian,  "  Thou  hast  conquered,  ( >  Nazarerte! " 

This  is  the  faithful  testimony  of  History.  May  we 
not  stand  justified  in  view  thereof  in  saying  that  even 
from  the  standpoint  of  our  modern  knowledge  of  the 
immense  natural  force  expended  by  the  rainfall,  the 
Psalmist's  prediction  of  the  power  of  Christ's  kingdom 
made  under  the  figure  of  the  falling  rain,  has  been  more 
than  fulfilled  ?  There  are  two  practical  lessons  rising 
out  of  our  theme  that  invite  attention. 

i.  The  first  is  a  lesson  of  courage  in  the  face  of 
modern  attacks  upon  Christianity.  Christian  men  and 
women,  standing  here  with  hands  full  of  these  proi 
the  power  of  our  Holy  Religion  to  sway  nations  and  era-, 
will  you  lose  courage  before  any  ioc  of  Christ?  Will  you 
be  turned  aside  from  the  path  of  triumph  which  stretches 
5  the  ages  past  and  leads  forward  into  the  conquests 
of  coming  time?  Ah!  it  is  said,  "we  must  yield  to  the 
tendencies  of  the  times."  Yield?  Who  then  is  lie  who 
seized  tin.-  tendencies  of  ancient  Greece-  and  Rome  and 
swayed  them  here  and  there  as  the  pilot  turns  his  ship? 
Do  you  know  His  Name?  Have  you  heard,  hav 
t  •  1  lis  Power?  Ah  I  you  hear  it  said,  "we  must  accept 
the  laws  of  Progress!"  Well,  that  colossal  Figure  who 
towers  above  every  horizon  of  modern  history,  whither- 
r  we  turn,  and  holds  aloft  the  sceptre  that  has 
swayed  forces  which  have  set  forward  the  race  along  the 
paths  « »f  its  noblest  acti<  »n  and  destiny,  He  is  the  world's 
True  Lawgiver!  He  alone  holds  the  reins  of  safe  ail- 
ment, and  His  are  the  chariot  wheels  that  shall 
mark  out  for  man  the  highway  to  his  furthest  and  loftiest 

progi 

Do  nol  b    deceived  !     "  The  tendency  of  the  tin 
"  Law  of  progress,"  arc  vain  phrases  by  which  to 

the  future  and  determine  your  duty.     There  is  a 

ship  drivii  ny  Atlantic.     Her  prow  is 

toward-  Europe.     Now  she  is  crossing  the  Gulf  Stream. 

tendencies  arc  towards  the  south.      Will  she   turn 


THE  RAINFALL.  1 95 

her  head  from  Europe,  and  follow  the  trend  of  the  Gulf 
Stream  southward  ?  I  trow  not !  On  she  goes.  Now  she 
has  steamed  into  the  storm  belt.  The  winds  are  from  the 
south-east,  and  they  are  sweeping  up  towards  Labrador. 
Strong  tendencies  in  that  rough  south-east  wind  towards 
yon  north-west  coast!  Will  the  captain  turn  his  vessel's 
beak  from  Europe,  and  follow  those  tendencies  ?  Not 
he !  There  is  a  chart  in  the  captain's  room,  on  which  is 
marked  out  the  vessel's  way  like  a  line — a  great  parallel 
from  port  to  port.  There  is  a  chart  in  the  steering- 
room  too,  and  the  quarter-master  at  the  wheel  has  his 
eye  upon  the  course  which  the  sailing-master  has  given 
him.  "East.  East-by-north.  East-by-south.  East!"  So 
he  reads,  and  steers  the  vessel  along  the  parallel  which 
the  captain  has  marked  for  him. 

"  Law  of  progress,"  forsooth !  "  Tendencies  of  the 
times,"  indeed!  Do  not  seek  them  in  the  winds,  the 
waves,  the  currents  of  this  storm-tossed  ocean  of  life! 
There  is  our  Divine  Captain,  and  here  are  our  chart 
and  sailing  directions.  Christ  is  our  Captain,  and,  oh! 
a  mighty  and  all-wise  Pilot  has  He  been.  He  knows 
the  way  and  all  its  turns  and  terrors.  The  winds  and 
the  waves  obey  His  will.  Peace,  then,  O  troubled 
hearts;  be  still !  His  hand  is  on  the  wheel;  the  Bible 
is  in  your  hands  ;  consult  and  consider  that  as  your  sure 
authority  and  guide,  and  all  will  be  safe.  Christ  and  his 
laws  override  and  direct  all  tendencies  of  nations  and 
men,  and  aside  from  these  there  never  has  been  and 
never  will  be  any  permanent  progress. 

2.  Our  second  lesson  is  one  of  confidence  in  carrying 
our  Lord's  Gospel  to  heathen  nations,  and  in  using  it  as 
the  sovereign  remedy  for  the  social  evils  of  our  own 
land.  What  has  been  done,  can  again  be  done.  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  Same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever.  Hu- 
man nature  is  changeless  in  its  fundamental  tendencies 
and  wants.  Simply,  the  conditions  of  mankind  have 
changed.  The  old  sorrows,  the  old  sins,  the  old  con- 
flicts are  here  still.  The  old  hard,  world-powers  and 
devils  of  self,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  the  poor, 
the  ignorant,  and  they  that  are  out  of  the  way ;  on  the 


196  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

one  hand  the  cruel  heart  and  heavy  hand  of  Pride,  on 
the  other  the  wail  of  feebleness,  the  moan  of  heart-bro- 
kenness,  the  shriek  of  despair;  these  old,  old  forces, 
follies,  miseries  are  all  here  and  everywhere  to-day 
where  men  live,  struggle,  die.  And  here,  too,  blessed 
be  God!  is  "  the  old,  old  Story  of  Jesus  and  His  Love!" 
Here  is  the  Hand  of  Almightiness,  clothed  with  the 
tenderness  of  Divine  Pity,  down  reached  to  draw  all  men 
unto  the  Infinite  Fatherhood.  That  old  Story  is  as  new, 
fresh,  potent  as  ever.  That  Hand  is  still  omnipotent  to 
Save,  and  it  is  stretched  out  still.  Have  confidence 
in  the  Gospel  to  do  the  work  of  human  Salvation  !  It  is 
able — for  He  its  Divine  Author  is  Able  even  to  the 
uttermost.  Trust  Him  ;  use  Him  for  others'  saving ;  yes, 
O  Sinner,  and  for  your  own  !  Reach  up  thy  trembling 
handling  from  whatever  weakness  and  loss  to  the  Al- 
mighty Hand  whose  very  wounds  bespeak  his  yearning 
love,  and  suffer  Him  to  lift  you  up  and  lead  you  on,  out 
of  this  Wilderness  into  the  World  of  Eternal  refreshing 
and  peace. 


LECTURE  XI. 


Showers  of  Blessing. 

"  There  shall  be  showers  of  blessing." — Ezekiel 
xxxiv.  26. 


SHOWERS  OF  BLESSING. 


When  the  Children  of  Israel  were  led  out  from  Egyp- 
tian bondage,  they  had  the  hope  set  before  them  of  a 
land  of  promise  which  should  be  enriched  with  the 
dews  and  rains  of  heaven.  That  portion  of  Egypt,  the 
land  of  Goshen,  in  which  the  Israelites  dwelt,  was  not  an 
infertile  land,  as  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  ancient  re- 
mains continually  being  uncovered  therein,  but  its  fertil- 
ity was  the  result  of  irrigation.  The  waters  of  the  Nile 
were  made  to  do  service  in  irrigating  the  soil,  watering 
the  plants  precisely  as  the  waters  of  the  Platte  and  Arkan- 
sas rivers  are  made  to  serve  a  like  purpose  in  Colorado 
to-day.  The  change  from  Egypt  to  Palestine  was  in  this 
respect  a  very  great  one.  From  a  land  which  was  flat, 
sandy,  and  well  nigh,  although  not  wholly  rainless,  they 
passed  to  a  country  of  mountains,  valleys,  hills,  running 
streams,  and  regular  seasons  of  rain. 

In  a  country  of  so  diversified  surface  as  Palestine,  one 
would  naturally  expect  considerable  difference  in  climate. 
From  the  sandy  section  in  the  extreme  south  to  the 
rugged  mountains  of  Galilee  in  the  north;  from  the  low 
plains  of  Jericho,  which  lie  in  the  deep  trench  of  the 
Jordan,  to  the  lofty  slopes  of  Lebanon  and  Hermon  and 
the  elevated  hills  round  about  Jerusalem,  the  contrast  is 
very  great  as  to  elevation,  and  hence  also  as  to  climate. 
In  considering  the  rainfall  of  Palestine  allowance  must 
therefore  be  made  for  these  local  variations  in  surface. 
Allowance  must  also  be  made,  it  is  probable,  for  the 
great  difference  between  the  condition  of  Palestine  at 
present  and  its  ancient  condition.  The  diminution  of 
vegetation  from  the  entire  land,  the  disappearance  of 
vineyards  and  wheat  fields  from  the  mountain  slopes  and 
valleys,  but  above  all  the  denudation  of  the  mountainous 
heart  of  the  land  of  its  forest  growth,  must  largely  have 
affected  the  rainfall. 

(199) 


200  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Palestine  is  suffering  to-day  just  as  the  United  States 
is  beginning  to  suffer,  and  in  the  future  will  suffer  far 
more  unless  the  foolish  and  wicked  policy  which  per- 
mits the  wasteful  use — I  might  almost  have  said,  the 
murderous  slaughter — of  our  native  forests,  be  soon 
stayed.  With  the  disappearance  of  trees  and  vegetables, 
Palestine  has  become  exposed  in  a  greater  degree  than 
in  early  times  to  the  evils  of  drought.*  The  maximum 
rainfall  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem  is  scarcely  sufficient 
at  the  present  time  to  justify  the  statements  as  to  the  fer- 
tility of  the  land  which  we  have  in  ancient  history,  f 
The  principal  dependence  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem 
for  water  for  domestic  uses  is  the  rain  collected  in  cis- 
terns from  the  roofs  and  terraces  of  their  houses,  and  the 
greatest  diligence  and  care  are  required  to  secure  enough 
for  the  public  comfort. 

With  these  allowances  it  may  be  stated  generally,  that 
in  Palestine  the  whole  period  from  October  to  March 
constitutes  one  continued  season  of  rain  without  any 
regularly  intervening  term  of  prolonged  fair  weather. 
The  rest  of  the  year  is  comparatively  rainless,  and  the 
land  becomes  dry  and  chapped.  The  early  and  the  latter 
rains,  therefore,  of  which  we  read  frequently  in  Scrip- 
ture, for  which  the  husbandmen  waited  with  longing, 
seem  to  have  been  the  first  showers  of  autumn  which 
revived  the  parched  and  thirsty  earth  and  prepared  it 
for  the  seed,  and  the  latter  showers  of  spring  which  con- 
tinued to  refresh  and  forward  both  the  ripening  crops 
and  the  vernal  products  of  the  field. % 

The  autumnal  rains  are  the  "former"  early  rains  of 
Scripture,  and  usually  commence  about  the  beginning 
of  November.  They  come  mostly  from  the  west  or 
south-west,  continuing  for  two  or  three  days  at  a  time, 
and  falling  especially  during  the  night.  The  rains  con- 
tinue with  greater  or  less  severity  during  the  entire 
winter,  when  the  roads,  or,  more  properly  speaking, 
trails  or  tracks  in  Palestine  become  muddy,  deep,  and 
slipper}'. |     As    the    winter   draws    to   a   close   the    rains 

^Stanley — "Sinai  and  Palestine,"  page  121.  t  Wilson  & 
Warren — "The  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,"  pages  20-21.  \  Robin- 
son— "Researches,"  vol.  I.,  429.     James  v.  7.     Prov.  xvi.  15. 


SHOWERS  OF  BLESSING.  201 

become  less  frequent,  but  occasional  showers,  very  much 
like  our  warm  spring  rains,  fall  during  the  month  of 
March,  and  even  in  the  early  April.  These  are  the 
"latter"  rains  which  are  especially  grateful  and  helpful 
in  forwarding  the  growing  crop  and  developing  the 
ripening  grain.* 

I.  We  turn  from  these  natural  details  that  lie  within 
the  imagery  of  our  text  to  mark  the  divine  lesson  which 
it  enfolds  :  The  Coming  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  world  has 
vastly  increased  Human  Blessedness. 

The  blessings  that  follow  the  rainfall  have  been  thus 
happily  expressed  by  the  Psalmist : — 

9    Thou  dost  visit  the  earth  and  waterest  her  ; 
Abundantly  dost  Thou  enrich  her. 
The  river  of  God  was  full  of  water, 
For  thus  Thou  preparedst  the  earth, 
And  providest  for  men  their  grain, 

10  Watering  the  furrows  of  the  land, 
Softening  the  ridges  thereof; 
Thou  makest  her  soft  with  showers, 
Thou  blessest  the  increase  thereof. 

1 1  Thou  crownest  the  year  of  Thy  goodness, 
And  thy  pathways  drop  with  fatness, 

12  The  wilderness  pastures  drip, 

And  the  hills  gird  themselves  with  joy  ; 

13  The  meadows  Thou  clothest  with  flocks, 
And  the  valleys  are  mantled  with  grain  ; 
Everything  shouts  for  joy, 
Everything  everywhere  sings. f 

The  sterility  of  the  world  in  the  chief  elements  of  true 
happiness  at  the  coming  of  Christ  is  fearful  to  contem- 
plate. The  masses  of  mankind  were  joyless.  There  was 
laughter,  indeed — the  laughter  which  is  as  the  crackling 
of  thorns  under  the  pot  ;J  the  mournful  utterance  of  a 
life  whose  very  substance  and  vitality  were  being  con- 
sumed in  the  fires  of  passion  and  vice.  But  of  that  peace 
which  is  as  a  river — deep,  pure,  silent,  broadening  toward 
the  end,  where  life  enters  the  limitless  ocean  of  eternity — 
of  that  there  was  very  little.  Christianity  gave  to  mul- 
titudes that  peace,  and  brought  the  possibility  thereof  to 

*Robinson — "Researches,'-'  vol.  III.,  page  9.  f  Ps.  lxv.  9-13. 
X  Eccl.  vii.  6. 


202  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

all  the  race.  It  found  society  a  parched  and  barren 
waste  ;  it  caused  the  wilderness  to  drip,  the  desert  to 
blossom,  and  parched  and  barren  hearts  it  mantled  with 
the  richest  livery  of  hope.  It  gave  beauty  for  ashes,  the 
oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of  praise  for  the 
spirit  of  heaviness.* 

It  has  been  said,  perhaps  often  thought,  that  the  ex- 
ample of  Christ  has  impressed  upon  the  human  race  a 
character  of  over-sobriety ;  that  Christianity  has  thrown 
a  sombre  hue  upon  men;  that  the  life  of  ordinary 
persons  cannot  be  as  Christ's  was,  and  if  it  were  so  it 
would  blight  the  very  sweetest  blossoms  of  mortal  life. 
What  ground  is  there  for  such  an  opinion  or  asser- 
tion ?  There  is  none  at  all  that  one  can  mark  out 
with  any  defmiteness.  It  means  nothing  to  point  us  to 
the  lives  and  teachings  of  ascetics,  hermits,  monks,  nuns, 
and  sour-visaged  and  atrabilious  representatives  of  the 
gloomy  features  of  the  religious  life  in  whatever  age, 
or  under  whatever  form  of  Christianity.  Do  you  tell 
me  that  these  people  express  the  true  Christianity? 
No  !  Their  religion  is  as  little  like  the  original  as  the 
mimic  flowers  that  caterers  carve  out  of  turnips  and 
carrots  to  garnish  a  baked  fowl  or  a  boiled  ham,  are  like 
the  dear  old-fashioned  pinks  and  pansies  of  our  mothers' 
flower-beds ! 

Such  forms  of  religion  are  rather  a  transfusion  into 
the  pure  health}-  blood  of  Christianity  from  the  dark, 
superstitious,  and  doleful  forms  of  pagan  faiths.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  there  was  no  brightness  in  pagan- 
ism, especially  as  represented  by  the  gods  of  ancient 
Rome  and  Greece.  There  was  much  of  that;  but  on 
the  other  hand  there  was  a  great  deal  of  gloom;  much 
that  sprang  from  and  ministered  t<>  tenor,  fear,  and  all 
the  baser  passions  and  emotions  of  human  nature;  and 
it  is  that  spirit  and  temper  which  has  been  introduced 
into  Christianity,  and  thus  has  made  it  in  the  mind-  ><( 
many  persons  a  religion  of  gloom.     But  there  is  no  need 

to  be  deceived  by  spurious  and  alien  ideas  of  this  sort. 

There  is  an  old  tradition  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
I   it  never  to  smile.     I  do  not 

*  Isa.  Ixi.  3. 


SHOWERS  OF  BLESSIXG.  203 

believe  it !  Christ  was  one  who  loved  little  children,  who 
took  them  in  his  arms  and  blessed  them.  He  noticed 
their  plays,  for  once  he  drew  a  metaphor  from  a  merry 
group  that  "played  wedding"  with  mimic  pipes  and 
dances  to  their  playmates,  who  perversely  would  not 
laugh.  Then  they  "  played  funeral,"  making  the  plain- 
tive wailings  of  Oriental  burials,  but  with  equal  but  op- 
posite perverseness  the  young  audience  refused  to  "  la- 
ment." Did  you  ever  know  a  man  who  loved  little 
children  to  be  after  the  fashion  of  a  wooden  image  ? 
Can  you  think  of  one  habitually  fondling  these  dear  buds 
of  humanity  and  remaining  smileless  and  grim  as  an 
automaton,  or  the  waxen  figures  in  a  Jarley  show?  I 
cannot  think  it,  and  I  do  not  believe  it  of  Christ.  I  pic- 
ture Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  a  cheerful,  mild,  and  pleas- 
ant, although  serious  and  vigorous  character;  in  short, 
an  ideal  man  in  all  his  manly  and  lovable  qualities. 
Now,  honest  laughter  and  pure  mirthfulness  belong  to 
manhood. 

Moreover,  the  Gospels  tell  us  that  the  holy  Angels 
sang  at  Jesus'  birth,  and  made  the  heavens  above  Bethle- 
hem's plain  ring  with  their  hallelujahs.  He  Himself  told 
us  that  there  is  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  re- 
penteth.  His  picture  of  himself  is  that  of  a  Shepherd 
who  has  found  his  lost  sheep,  and  brings  it  home  on  his 
shoulders  "  rejoicing,"  and  who  calls  his  friends  and 
neighbors  together,  saying,  "  Rejoice  with  me,  for  I  have 
found  my  sheep  which  was  lost !"  He  pictures  to  us 
the  family  of  God,  the  Holy  Father  Himself  as  one  who 
welcomes  home  a  prodigal  son  with  all  the  tokens  of 
gladness  and  mirthfulness,  bidding  musicians  and  dancers 
to  be  hired,  and  a  feast  prepared,  saying,  "  Let  us  eat 
and  make  merry!  for  this  my  son  was  dead  and  is  alive 
again;  he  was  lost  and  is  found.*  It  was  meet  to  make 
merry  and  be  glad."  To  the  end  of  his  days  Jesus  bore 
this  cheerful  spirit.  When  His  feet  were  standing  on  the 
very  brink  of  the  River  of  Death,  when  He  could  reach 
out  His  hand  and  almost  touch  the  cross  of  his  Passion, 
we  read  this  sentence,  "  Ye  shall  be  sorrowful,  but  your 
sorrow  shall  be  turned  intojoy."     Again  he  said,  "  Ask 

*  Luke  xv.  24. 


204  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  ~RE. 

and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full."  Even  in 
His  last  intercessory  prayer,  when  He  was  pouring  out 
His  heart  in  the  agony  of  desire  to  God  ere  He  went 
-  the  brook  Kedron  to  the  agony  of  Gethsemane, 
He  introduced  this  sentence,  "  But  now  I  come  to  Thee; 
and  these  things  I  speak  in  the  world,  that  the}'  may  have 
my  joy  fulfilled  in  themselves."*  Let  this  suffice.  It  is 
impossible  for  us  to  think  of  such  a  Teacher  as  a  smile- 
less,  joyless  man,  or  to  believe  that  his  Religion  can  be 
intended  to  throw  shadows  over  human  lives  by  darken- 
ing the  light  of  gladness  and  silencing  the  voice  of 
mirth.  Oh,  no  !  "  Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem  !" 
— that  is  the  mission  of  Christianity.  "  Comfort  ye, 
comfort  ye  my  people!" — that  is  the  voice  of  the  Christ 
ever  crying  in  the  midst  of  the  desert  of  this  world. 

That' the  Primitive  Church  faithfully  fulfilled  this  mis- 
sion there  is  no  doubt.  The  Religion  of  Jesus  brought 
balm  to  the  wounded  hearts  and  weary,  burden-worn 
shoulders  of  an  era  when  humanity  was  bitterly  op- 
pressed. The  voice  of  infinite  compassion  called  not  in 
vain,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest!"  The  masses  of  the 
nations — "the  common  people,"  were  covered  by  the 
terms  of  that  Divine  Invitation,  and  "the  Common  Peo- 
ple heard  Him  gladly."  Alas!  the  Church  and  the 
Christian  State  have  too  often  misrepresented  their  Lord 
and  His  Holy  Religion,  and  have  been  oppressors  not  re- 
lievers of  humanity.  But  whatever  have  been  the  sins  of 
some,  the  Many  have  never  misread  the  Gentle  Shep- 
herd's Heart.  Mm  in  every  age  have  known  that  Jesus 
is  the  Friend  of  tin  Miserable,  and  have  turned  to  Him 
for  refreshing.  He  has  never  failed  them,  but  has  come 
down  like  rain  upon  tin-  meadow-grass  to  quicken  dying 
hopes,  and  cause  life's  wilderness   place     to  bloSSOm  and 

be  fragrant  with  the  sweetness  of  Sharon's  R< 

II.    Let    us    turn    our   thought    into    a   more    practical 
channel  and  ask,  how  does  Christ  confer  blessings 
men?     What  is  the  gift  that  lies  at  the  fountain  head  kA 

*John  w  ii.   i    . 


SH01VERS  OF  BLESSING.  205 

all  those  streams  which  enrich  human  life  ?  In  other 
words,  how  may  man  obtain  blessedness  ? 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  gave  an  answer  to  this  question 
from  the  slopes  of  a  mountain  in  Palestine,  to  which  his 
reply  has  given  the  name,  "The  Mount  of  Beatitudes." 
The  Sermon  upon  the  Mount  has  challenged  the  attention 
of  thinking  men  throughout  the  last  nineteen  centuries. 
It  presents  an  unequaled  summary  of  the  great  ethical 
truths  upon  which  the  system  of  Christianity  rests.  A 
reading  of  this  sermon  shows  that  the  controlling  motives 
of  life,  according  to  Christ,  should  be  Holiness  and 
Helpfulness.  The  sermon  deals  with  human  duty,  first 
subjectively,  presenting  the  spiritual  graces  which  men 
should  seek  to  cultivate,  such  as  inward  peace  of  heart, 
humility,  meekness,  purity,  righteousness,  mercy,  firm- 
ness, and  self-denial  for  the  truth.  In  the  second  place 
it  treats  the  subject  objectively,  that  is,  in  its  relations 
to  the  world  outside  of  one's  own  heart.  It  urges  the 
duty  of  active  benevolence;  it  bids  men  become  a  bless- 
ing to  their  fellows,  by  illumining  them  with  the  light 
of  truth — "ye  are  the  light  of  the  world;"  by  savoring 
them  into  healthful  life — "ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth." 
Thus,  the  Sermon  upon  the  Mount  may  be  resolved  into 
a  presentation,  first,  of  those  aims  or  ends  which  express 
an  inward  condition  of  soul;  and,  second,  those  which 
express  an  outward  and  beneficent  relation  to  men. 
Such  are  in  a  few  words  the  principles  which  may  be 
taken  fairly  to  represent  the  manner  in  which  Christianity 
deals,  or  should  deal,  with  the  problem,  How  may  men 
become  blessed?  We  may  obtain  a  juster  valuation  of 
these  principles  by  exhibiting  them  in  contrast  with  some 
of  the  prominent  theories  of  the  present  day  which  deal 
with  the  problem  of  human  happiness. 

The  apostle  of  modern  theories  of  evolution  is  not 
Dr.  Darwin,  as  most  persons,  perhaps,  suppose,  but  Her- 
bert Spencer.  Mr.  Darwin  was  a  naturalist.  Herbert 
Spencer  is  a  philosopher;  and  to  him,  more  than  any 
thinker  among  English-speaking  men,  is  to  be  charged 
the  perversion  of  evolutionary  theories  into  an  agency 
destructive   of  Christianity.     Mr.   Spencer   says,*   "  No 

*  Data  of  Ethics,  page  46. 


206  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Ti  RE. 

school  can  avoid  taking  for  the  ultimate  moral  aim  a  de- 
sirable state  of  feeling,  called  by  whatever  name — grati- 
fication, enjoyment,  happiness."  Again,  he  says,  "  If  we 
call  good  the  conduct  conducive  to  life,  we  can  only 
do  so  with  the  implication  that  it  is  conducive  to  a  bal- 
ance of  pleasures  over  pains."  Says  an  American  writer 
of  the  same  school,*  "  morality  or  goodness  is  not  the 
prize  of  life.  That  prize  is  happiness,  and  morality  only 
furnishes  the  negative  conditions."  Says  Miss  Beving- 
ton,  the  English  positivist:  "  Every  one  else  knows  and 
affirms,  and  no  positive  moralist  attempts  to  deny,  that 
virtuous  conduct  is  only  to  be  achieved  at  all  for  the 
sake  of  what  lies  beyond  it." — That  is  to  say,  fox  the 
sake  of  the  happiness  which  it  produces. 

Again,  let  us  contrast  the  great  aims  of  life  announced 
by  Jesus  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  with  the  doc- 
trines of  Nihilism,  which  are  to-day  in  whole  or  in  part 
receiving  the  assent  of  multitudes  of  our  fellow-men. 
The  late  Michael  Bakunin,  the  father  of  Nihilism,  said : 
"  Brethren,  I  come  to  announce  unto  you  a  new  gospel, 
which  must  penetrate  to  the  very  ends  of  the  earth. 
This  gospel  admits  of  no  half  measures  and  hesitations. 
The  Lie  must  be  stamped  out  and  give  way  to  the  truth." 
I  almost  hesitate  to  continue  the  quotation,  but  when 
Satan  comes  in  among  the  sons  of  God  it  is  well  for  us 
at  times  to  hear  what  he  has  to  say,  that  we  may  know- 
not  only  how  to  answer,  but  to  avoid  him.  "The  first 
lie,"  says   Bakunin,   "is  God.     The   second  lie   is    right 

*  *  might,  my  friends,  forms  the  sole  ground- 
work of  society,  and  when  you  have  freed  your  minds 
from  the  fear  of  a  God.  and  from  that  childish  respect 
for  the  fiction  of  right,  then  all  the  remaining  chains 
which  bind  you,  and  which  are  called  science,  civiliza- 
tion, property,  marriage,  morality,  and  justice,  will  snap 
asunder  like  threads.  Let  your  own  happiness  be  your 
only  law.  But  in  order  to  get  this  law  recognized,  and 
to  bring  about  the  proper  relations  which  should  exist 
between  the  majority  and  minority  of  mankind,  you 
must  destroy  everything  which  exists  in  the  shape  of 
State  or  social  organization — our  first  work  must  be  the 

*  Quoted  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  Review  by  Mr.  Mullock. 


SHOWERS  OF  BLESSING. 


207 


destruction,  the  annihilation,  of  everything  as  it  now 
exists  *  *  *  Take  heed  that  no  ark  be  allowed  to 
rescue  any  atom  of  this  world  which  we  now  consecrate 
to  destruction — now  we  Nihilists  say,  no  law,  no  reli- 
gion—Nihil  !"  *     Nothing ! 

Surely,  in  view  of  these  contrasts  and  comparisons, 
which  show  us  unmistakably  the  superiority  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  as  a  moral  teacher,  we  will  not  be  disposed 
to  turn  away  from  Him  to  any  other,  If,  then,  we  put 
the  question,  How  shall  man  be  blessed  ?  we  can  do  no 
better  than  accept  what  Christ  has  taught,  namely,  that 
man  shall  be  blessed,  first,  by  cultivating  a  holy  life,  sec- 
ond, by  devoting  his  life  to  the  blessing  of  others. 

1.  Consider  for  a  moment  the  first  of  these  paths  to 
blessedness,  securing  a  holy  life.     "  Blessed  are  the  pure 
in  heart."  There  is  an  old  saying,  "  Virtue  is  its  own  re- 
ward."    I  have  seen  it  more  than  once  held  up  to  rid- 
icule, and  yet  it   is  profoundly   true.     Virtue,  which  is 
but  another  name  for  holiness,  has  to  be  pursued  for  its 
own  sake,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  happiness  which  may 
result.     Of  course,  one  is  glad  to  receive  whatever  hap- 
piness may  ensue,  but  virtue  should  be  practiced  because 
it  is  right.     This  is  a  great  fortification  against  tempta- 
tion.    Is  one  assailed  by   popular    clamor  that  would 
urge  him  into  evil  courses,  that  would  force  him  upon  a 
path  contrary  to  conscience  and  righteousness,  by  threats 
that  if  he  do  not  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  mob  his 
social  or  political  prospects  shall  be  blighted,  his  happi- 
ness threatened?     Surely  it  is  an   anchorage  to  a  soul 
blown  upon  by  such  a  tempest,  to  be  able  and  willing  to 
say,  as  Henry  Clay  once    said   so  nobly,  "  I  had  rather 
be  right  than  President."     We  might  have  learned  such 
a  lesson  even  from  a  pagan  philosopher.     Was  it  not 
Cicero  who  said  :  "  Socrates  is   my  friend,  Plato  is  my 
friend,    but    more   than   either  my  friend   is  Truth?"! 
Surely  it  does  give  strength  to  one  whose  faith  and  vir- 
tue are  assailed  by  inducements  to  unrighteous  dealings, 
held  out  through  prospects  of  large  gains  in  business,  to 

*  Quoted  from  Mr.  Cunliffe  Owen's  paper  on  Nihilism  in  the 
Nineteenth  Century  Review,  January,   1880.     f  Socrates  amicus 
Plato  amicus,  sed  magis  arnica  Veritas. 


208  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NA  TL  'A'L\ 

be  convinced  that  purity  is  better  than  prosperity,  that 
unsullied  manhood  is  better  than  happiness  ;  that  it 
shall  profit  a  man  nothing  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  own  soul.  Surely  it  does  fortify  the  tempted 
soul  to  be  able  to  appeal  from  the  false  and  unfriendly 
judgments  of  men  to  the  judgments  of  Him  whose  right- 
eousness never  faileth  ;  to  turn  aside  from  the  perishing 
crowns  of  this  world  to  that  great  reward,  that  unfading 
crown,  which  is  in  reserve  for  those  who  walk  in  gar- 
ments of  white,  keeping  them  unspotted  from  the  world. 
In  short,  blessedness,  according  to  the  creed  of  Christ, 
consists  primarily  in  the  attainment  of  a  pure  heart;  it  is 
a  question  of  what  am  I  ?  not  of  what  have  I  ? 

2.  The  second  source  of  blessedness  which  Christ 
holds  out  is  beneficence,  the  act  of  blessing  others. 

"  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  I  le  said  to  His  disciples. 
Your  life  must  consist  in  active  seasoning  of  all  untrue, 
unkind,  and  corrupt  aims,  ideas,  and  acts  ;  in  continually 
saving  those  who  without  your  influence  would  surely 
perish.  "  Ye  arc  the  light  of  the  world,"  he  said.  Your 
duty  is  to  stand  as  a  lamp  in  the  midst  of  darkness,  illu- 
minating the  passer-by  and  shedding  radiance  upon  the 
homes  within  the  circuit  of  your  shining.  In  such  ac- 
tions you  shall  find  true  happiness.  If  ye  know  these 
things,"  said  the  Master,  "happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them." 

Christians  sometimes  fail  of  blessedness  because  they 
do  not  see  its  close  relation  to  being  a  blessing. 

A  parishioner  once  sought  advice  of  Dr.  Alexander. 
lie  v, as  under  a  cloud,  and  could  find  no  comfort  in  the 
discharge  of  religious  duty.  The  Doctor  said  to  him  : 
"Do  you  pray?"  "Yes,  I  spend  whole  nights  in 
prayer."  "  1  low  do  you  pray  ?"  "I  pray,"  was  the  an- 
swer "  that  the  Lord  would  lift  the  light  of  his  counte- 
nance upon  me.  and  grant  me  peace."  "Go,"  said  Dr. 
Alexander,  "  and  pray  God  to  glorify  His  name,  and  to 
convert  sinners  to  Himself."  The  prescription  met  the 
ca^e.     The  man  found  blessedness  in  bestowing  it. 

Canon  Liddon  has  remarked  in  one  of  his  sermons  that 
love  is  greater  than  knowledge,  and  that  he  who  can 
make  love  grow  among  men  deserves  a  higher  bencdic- 


SHOWERS  OF  BLESSING  209 

tion  than  he  who  only  brings  to  them  intellectual  en- 
lightenment. Speaking  to  an  academical  audience  in 
England,  he  said,  "  As  compared  with  knowledge,  love 
is  a  stronger  thing,  and  its  worth  more  practical  as  an 
abstract  existence.  To  enwrap  other  men,  perhaps  mul- 
titudes, in  the  flame  of  a  passionate  enthusiasm  for  pri- 
vate or  public  virtue  is  better  than  to  analyze  in  the 
solitude  of  a  study  rival  systems  of  ethical  and  political 
truths."  This  is  a  true  Christian  philosophy,  yet  there 
is  no  need  to  separate  knowledge  and  love,  for  Christ  has 
both  to  give.  Christ  enkindles  and  bestows  at  once  the 
love  of  truth  and  the  love  of  man.  This  is  his  great  gift, 
his  benediction  to  the  world.  This,  as  He  Himself  de- 
clared to  the  Roman  knight,  Pilate,  in  the  judgment  hall, 
is  his  true  royal  mission,  given  Him  by  his  Father,  a  real 
token  of  His  earthly  kingship.  "  To  this  end  was  I  born. 
For  this  end  came  I  into  the  world  that  I  might  bear 
witness  to  the  truth." 

Go  forth,  then,  Christian  people,  in  obedience  to  the 
spirit  and  word  of  Jesus,  to  bless  a  miserable  race  with 
all  the  spiritual  gifts  of  God,  and  with  the  hope  of  im- 
mortality. Mankind  needs  this.  You  need  it.  You  have 
found  Christianity  a  source  of  moral  strength  in  con- 
flict with  sin  and  necessities.  Its  support  has  nurtured 
you,  inspired  you  to  endurance  and  action.  It  has 
blessed  your  life,  helped  you  to  your  highest  successes, 
rescued  you  from  most  threatening  perils.  Let  the 
blessing  be  passed  over  to  others  in  the  name  of  Him 
who  is  the  giver  of  every  perfect  gift.  To-day  the 
Church  and  world  understand  better,  perhaps,  than  ever, 
that  Jesus  Christ  came  among  men  as  a  Friend.  By  that 
Holy  Name  which  you  bear  I  urge  you  to  be  true  to  the 
mission  of  Christianity,  and  give  all  the  forces  of  your 
life  to  broaden -the  zone  of  human  happiness,  and  limit 
and  contract  to  its  very  minimum  the  belt  of  human 
misery  and  sin. 

Salvation  is  free !  Yes,  it  is,  thank  God  !  Water  is  free. 
How  it  bubbles  from  the  mountain  spring,  and  laughs 
down  the  mountain  sides,  making  musical  notes  as  it  rip- 
ples over  rocks,  runs  under  ferns,  and  finds  its  way  to 
the  flowery  meadow.  There  is  not  a  bird  twittering  from 


2 1 0  THE  COS/ EL  IN  X.  1  Tl  A' E. 

the  boughs  that  overhang  it,  not  a  squirrel  barking  on 
the  branches  above  it,  not  a  beast  in  all  those  tangled 
woods,  nor  creeping  thing,  that  may  not  come  and 
quench  its  thirst  at  the  mountain  brook.  There  is  not  a 
flower,  shrub,  or  reed  along  the  banks,  or  blue-tinted 
flag,  or  waving  tuft  of  grass  with  banner  of  green  leaf 
"  hanging  hall-mast  high,"  that  may  not  send  down  its 
rootlets,  or  bend  down  its  head,  and  freely  drink.  The 
stream  sweeps  onward  to  the  river,  and  the  river  courses 
by  yon  teeming  city.  There  is  not  a  child  or  woman  or 
man  who  may  not  go  down  to  its  limpid  currents  to 
drink,  or  bathe,  or  take  the  waters  freely,  even  to  satiety, 
for  domestic  and  personal  use.  Water  is  free  !  What 
under  heaven  is  freer,  unless  it  be  the  air? 

Stop  a  moment !  Go  to  the  gate  of  our  beautiful  Park  ; 
enter  the  Fairmount  water-works,  and  look  at  the  splen- 
did machines  whose  mighty  whir  and  thug  are  forcing 
the  water — free  water — of  the  Schuylkill  through  scores 
of  miles  of  mains  and  pipes  into  all  the  factories,  shops, 
churches,  hospitals,  and  homes  of  Philadelphia.  Water 
is  free!  But — when  you  pay  your  yearly  water-tax  you 
observe  that  it  takes  a  good  deal  of  money  to  deliver 
free  water  to  your  doors  ! 

We  do  well  to  speak  of  the  freedom  of  salvation,  the 
freedom  of  the  blessed  offers  of  Christ  through  the 
Church,  but  forget  not  that  the  machinery  by  which  the 
Water  of  Life  is  to  be  borne  to  the  thirsty  and  impure  is 
not  free,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  very  costly.  Therefore 
it  is  becoming  that  those  who  are  the  children  of  God 
should  yield  of  their  substance  liberally,  that  "  free  sal- 
vation" may  be  brought  to  those  who  most  arc  in  need 
of  it  God  has  given  you  power;  social  power,  intel- 
lectual power,  physical  vigor,  the  mighty  force  of  sym- 
pathy— heart  power;  yes,  "It  is  He  that  giveth  thee 
power  to  get  wealth."  *  Use  all  these  Divine  gifts  as 
Stewards  of  God  in  Christ,  remembering  well  and  always 
that  here,  day  by  day,  in  this  life  as  well  as  in  the  1  >.iy 
of  Final  Judgment,  you  must  "  Give  an  account  of  thy 
stewardship." 

There   is  also  a  lesson   here  for  those  who  have  never 

*  Dcut.  \iii.  iS. 


SHO  WERS  OF  BLESSING.  2 1 1 

yet  allied  their  lives  in  faith  with  the  Son  of  God. 
Surely  the  knowledge  of  the  Divine  Goodness  should 
lead  you  to  repentance.  Ought  not  the  blessings  of 
Christ  to  stir  you  up  to  grateful  action?  God  certainly 
expects  that  result.  In  one  striking  passage  in  Isaiah, 
in  which  the  Lord  describes  His  purposed  blessings 
under  the  metaphor  of  showers  of  rain,  He  declares 
that  the  result  shall  be  a  consecration  of  men  to  Him,  a 
solemn  devoting  of  their  lives  to  His  service,  a  holy  joy 
and  pride  in  the  fellowship  and  name  of  His  spiritual 
children. 

3  I  will  pour  water  on  him  that  is  thirsty, 
And  floods  upon  the  dry  ground ; 

I  will  pour  my  Spirit  upon  thy  seed, 
And  my  blessing  upon  thine  offspring. 

4  And  they  shall  spring  up  among  the  grass 
As  willows  by  the  water  courses. 

5  And  one  shall  say,  ' '  I  am  the  Lord's !" 
Another  shall  call  by  the  name  of  Jacob, 
Another  subsGribe  with  his  hand,  "To  the  Lord!" 
And  surname  himself  by  the  Name  of  Israel.* 

Has  not  your  Heavenly  Father  a  right  to  expect  like 
issues  from  his  goodness  toward  you  ?  Does  He  not  ex- 
pect such?  Will  you  disappoint  such  loving  and  reason- 
able desires?  He  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  you,  and 
He  stands  offering  you  all  the  blessedness  of  a  purified 
life,  a  pardoned  soul,  and  Paradise  at  last.  Will  you  ac- 
cept his  offer?  Will  you  believe,  and  be  safe  and  happy 
eternally?  How  can  you  darken  your  soul  against  the 
light  and  vision  of  this  merciful  Saviour  and  His  offered 
blessing? 

One  summer  evening,  while  stopping  in  a  beautiful 
suburban  home  not  far  from  our  city,  I  was  told  this 
story  by  one  who  had  lately  been  an  inmate  of  the  house. 
A  maiden  some  sixteen  years  of  age  had  all  her  life  been 
the  unconscious  victim  of  a  blemish  in  her  eyes  that 
hindered  perfect  vision.  A  surgical  operation  was  finally 
agreed  upon,  and  successfully  made.  The  girl  was  kept 
within  the  house  until  her  eyes  gathered  full  strength, 
and   was  permitted  gradually  and  sparingly  to  go  out- 

*  Isaiah  xliv.  3-5. 


2  I  2  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  -RE. 

doors.  It  so  happened  that  some  time  elapsed  after 
her  recovery  before  she  went  into  the  open  air  after 
nightfall.  One  evening  she  rushed  into  the  parlor,  with 
face  aglow  with  excitement.  The  joy  of  a  great  dis- 
covery illumined  every  feature.  "Oh,  come  !"  she  ex- 
claimed, "  come  out  quickly  to  the  lawn,  and  see  what 
beautiful  things  have  appeared  in  the  sky !  " 

Her  friends  hastily  followed  her  out  of  doors,  won- 
dering what  might  have  occurred.  They  saw  nothing ! 
"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  they  asked  the  maiden. 

"  Look !  "  she  said,  pointing  eagerly  heavenward,  "  don't 
you  see  those  bright  things  up  there  ?  They  are  there 
— and  there — sparkling  all  over  the  sky  !  " 

"My  dear  child,"  one  who  loved  her. said  softly, 
"  those  are  the  stars  !  " 

Yes,  the  stars,  which  she  had  never  seen  before ! 
Friends  could  hardly  take  in  the  fact  that  for  all  the 
years  of  her  life  the  dear  child  had  been  moving  thr 
God's  world  with  a  limited  vision,  seeing  only  what  lay 
close  around  her,  utterly  oblivious  that  there  were  stars, 
hosts  of  stars,  all  over  the  sky,  and  all  so  very  beautiful. 
How  strange  it  seemed  ! 

I  think  of  something  far  more  strange — ay,  and  piti- 
ful! Oh,  souls  of  men,  heaven  is  full  of  shining  lights 
that  God  has  hung  out  to  charm  the  pathway  to  His  i 
nal  home,  to  lure  you  upward,  to  show  you  how  far- 
eternity  exceeds  time  in  beaut}-,  how  far  heaven  rises 
beyond  earth  in  value  and  glory.  Yet,  O  my  friends, 
your  eyes  are  still  withholden!  You  do  not  sec,  you  do 
not  comprehend,  you  will  not  look,  and  suffer  your  soul 
to  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  heaven  .md  ( \  >d.  Oh,  for  the 
hand  of  Him  who  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind  when  lie 
walked  this  world,  to  touch  your  soul  and  give  you  sight 
of  these  realities!  He  is  here! — verily  here,  near  you, 
close  beside  you,  willing  to  till  your  life  with  the  bless- 
race,  blessings  which  everywhere  overhang 
you  and  only  await  your  acceptance.  Kneel  before 
I  lim  !  Pray  1  lim  to  anoint  your  eyes  with  eye-salve,  that 
you  may  see!  Then  lo!  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the 
:it  and  the  future,  will  break  forth  before  you, 
radiant  with  the  quenchless  stars  oi'  immortal  hope 


LECTURE  XII. 


The  Bow  in  the  Cloud. 

''''And  the  bozo  shall  be  in  the  cloud ;  and  I  will  look 
upon  it,  that  I  may  remember  the  everlasting  covenant 
between  God  and  every  living  creature  of  all  flesh  that 
is  upon  the  earthy — GENESIS  ix.  16. 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD. 


It  sometimes  happens  during  a  morning  or  afternoon 
shower  that  the  sun  bursts  forth  from  behind  a  cloud 
while  drops  of  rain  are  yet  falling  through  the  air.  If, 
at  that  moment,  the  observer  stands  with  his  back  to 
the  sun  he  will  see  upon  the  opposite  heavens,  beneath 
the  passing  rain-cloud,  the  beautiful  phenomenon  known 
as  the  rainbow.  The  physical  origin  of  this  lovely 
creature  of  Nature  was  unknown  to  the  ancients,  but 
has  been  explained  in  modern  times  by  students  of  the 
laws  of  optics. 

In  order  to  understand  this  explanation,  several  facts 
must  be  taken  for  granted.  First,  sunlight  is  a  mixture 
composed  of  seven  heterogeneous  kinds  of  light  known 
as  the  primary  colors — red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue, 
indigo,  and  violet.  These  indeed  may  be  reduced  to 
three,  which  according  to  Professor  James  Clark  Max- 
well   are  vermilion,   ultramarine,  and    emerald   green.* 

Second,  certain  objects  known  as  prisms  have  the 
power  of  decomposing  sunlight  into  these  primary 
colors;  and  when  thus  separated  in  their  order  they  are 
commonly  called  the  solar  spectrum. 

Third,  the  fact  that  the  spectrum  appears  as  we  see  it, 
the  colors  arranged  one  above  another  in  the  order  named, 
is  due  to  their  different  degrees  of  refrangibility  or  ca- 
pacity to  be  broken  from  a  direct  line  when  passing 
through  the  prism.  The  ray  that  is  least  broken,  red, 
will  be_  outermost,  and  so  on  in  order  until  that  which  is 
most  deflected,  violet,  will  be  at  the  other  extreme  of 
the  spectrum. 

Now  a  rainbow  is  a  circular  spectrum.  What  are  the 
prisms  which  have  produced  it,  and  how  is  it  produced? 
The   spherical   drops   of  water  falling  out  of  the   rain- 

*See  Contributions  to  Science,. page  473,  in  Life  of  James  Clark 
Maxwell,  with  diagram. 

(215) 


2 1 6  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tt  RE. 

cloud  become  in  fact  prisms,  within  which  the  rays  <■! 
light  arc  separated  into  their  primary  colors.  A  ray 
falls  upon  the  outer  surface  of  the  drop,  is  refracted  or 
broken  from  the  direct  line  as  it  passes  through,  is  then 
reflected  from  the  opposite  inner  surface  back  to  the 
convexity  nearest  the  observer,  and  passing  out  of  the 
drop  is  once  more  refracted  and  so  falls  upon  the  ob- 
server's eye  as  a  single  color  of  the  spectrum.  The  eye 
is  so  placed  as  to  receive  but  one  of  the  colors  from  any 
one  drop,  but  from  the  other  falling  drops  it  receives  the 
remaining  colors. 

Let  us  divide  these  innumerable  drops  into  seven  vast 
arm}-  corps.  Each  corps  will  include  the  drops  which 
produce  one  of  the  seven  primary  colors,  and  the  uni- 
form of  that  corps  shall  be  red,  green,  blue  or  other 
color  according  to  its  order.  You  must  see  that  all  the 
individuals  of  this  army  corps  will  be  mustered  together 
in  one  great  line  of  parade  stretching  around  the  sky. 
For  since  every  ray  of  any  one  color,  red,  for  example, 
when  passing  through  its  raindrop  prism  is  broken 
from  the  direct  line  at  the  same  angle  of  refraction,  all 
rays  must  occupy  the  same  relative  position  to 
the  horizon,  and  so  the  myriad  ^\  red  points  joined  one 
to  another  will  appear  as  an  extended  line  before  the  ob- 
server. Next  to  this  line  of  red  will  stretch  the  I 
line  of  that  army  corps  which  wears  the  orange  uniform; 
and  so  on  through  ail  the  seven  corps  oi  colors,  until  at 
last  we  shall  see  the  whole  united  host  mustered  rank  on 
rank  in  beautiful  and  orderly  dress  parade  over  the  black 

round  of  the  receding  cloud. 

It  would  be  impossible,  perhaps,  in  a  popular  discourse 

•his,  to  explain  the  mathematical  principles  upon 
which   the  \arioii  lisposed  :in  a 

circular  spectrum.     It  will  be  enough  to  state  that  the 

trance  of  parallel  rays  of  homogeneous  light  thus 
reflected  ami  refracted,  would  naturally  be  that  of  a 
bright  circle  whose  centre  is  opposite  to  the  soui 

.  ami  whose  radius   is,  for  raindrops,  about    .}_• 

nd,  the  different  kinds  of  homogeneous  light  which 


♦Art.  "Light,"  Encyclopaedia  Britannica ;  Ed.  ixth. 


7///;  B  0 0 '  A  ■ '  THE  CL  0 1  rD.  2 i 7 

make   up   sunligh-  -oduce  a  circular 

ire  on  the 
outside.     Third,  an  infill  .-j   ar- 

rant oe  anot:     1  centre 

ch  individual  b  at  diameti 

oint  of  the  sun's  disk  which  prod  .  Thus 

the  immense  number  of  falling  raind- 
immense  number  of  passing  sun-rays,   pr<  a  int- 

er of  coh  1  into 

band  or  ribbon  of  c  -    -.hing  around 

As  the  prim- 

.  jlar  bands  arrang  another  11 

natural  order  of 

tnetunes  two  dist  thin 

•  '.her.     The  inner  o: 
and.  -of  the  two.     The  prima- 

n  of  the  .  hich 

.hing 

ch  is  the  fainter  of  the 

on  the    inner  portion   of  the 

raindrop  and  suffering  two   ; 

tions.     In    the  prima-      I  the         f  the 

-urn.     In  the 
ondai 

'. 
is  produced  by  This  is 

-  that  only  faint tr 
of  cc  ear.     This  nv  .n,  for  instance,  when 

nines  on  raindrops  in  the  *.a  of  the 

rough  c  talsintheh 

strata.     ]  from  the  fac-.  5  the 

light  is  S]  -a  much  la- 

is  then  much  br 
than  usual,  and  nearly  white.     The 
rain;  »  modifications  in  1 

formed  nlight  1    .  d  lunar  rain'-. 

and  are  n  -;n. 

The  lunar  rainbow,  which   is  a  -,he- 

non,  differs  from  the  urce 

hich  it  is  ]  and, 

as  in  all  case-.  .tion  of  the  c 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

is  very  difficult.  In  fact,  except  under  the  most  favora- 
ble circumstances,  the  lunar  rainbow  rarely  shows  colors 
at  all,  giving  a  pale  ghostly  gleam  of  apparently  white 
or  yellow  light,  but  with  full  moon  and  other  favorable 
circumstances  it  is  easy  to  assure  oneself  that  the  colors 
are  really  present. 

In  Bible  narrative  the  Bow  in  the  cloud  is  intro- 
duced to  us  as  the  sign  of  God's  covenant  to  preserve 
the  earth  from  the  destruction  of  another  universal  del- 
uge. The  circumstances  of  its  introduction  into  the 
course  of  sacred  history  are  briefly  these.  The  waters 
had  wrought  their  work  of  judgment  upon  the  antedilu- 
vian world.  Mankind  had  become  so  corrupt  that  the 
hope  of  a  future  of  purity  and  noble  development  was 
nearly  extinguished.  Outside  the  pale  of  one  family  the 
race  seemed  hopelessly  insalvable.     By  an  act  of  Divine 

:y  the  element  of  fatal  disease  was  separated 
the  element  of  life  and  cast  away  upon  the  waters  of  the 
flood.  Noah  and  his  family  were  preserved  in  an  ark 
of  gopher  wood,  which  outrode  the  deluge  and  was 
finally  lodged  upon  Mount. Ararat.  The  first  act  of  the 
patriarch  after  his  deliverance  was  one  of  worship.  He 
chose  victims  from  the  clean  beasts  in  the  ark,  and 
offered  amid  the  debris  of  the  drowned  world  a  sacrifice 
of  thanksgiving  and  adoration  to  the  Eternal  God  who 
had  spared  him  and  his.  This  act  of  piety  was  m 
ceptable  to  God,  and  thereupon  he  made  a  covenant 
with  Noah  not  only  for  himself  and  his  posterity  but 
for  all  the  animals  associated  with  him.  In  this  cove- 
nant he  guaranteed  the  permanence  of  the  order  of 
ture;  "Seed  time  and  harvest,  cold  and  heat,  summer 
and  winter,  day  and  night  shall  not  c 

N   ah,  This  is  the  token   of  the 
ant  which   I  make  between  me  and  you  and  even- 
creature  that  is  with  you  for  perpetual  generations. 
I  do  set  my  bow  in  the  cloud,  and  it  shall  be  for  a  I 
of  a  covenant  between  .Me  and  the  earth. "t 

Thus  at  the  very  time  when  man  most  needed  assur- 
ance it  was  vouchsafed  to  him.     All  his  ideas  of  th 
bility  of  Nature  had  been  swept  away,  or  at  least  greatly 

ren.  ix.  12. 


THE  BOW  IX  THE  CLOUD.  219 

shaken  by  the  terrible  event  which  had  just  occurred. 
How  could  he  with  any  heart  enter  upon  the  work  of 
rebuilding  destroyed  homes,  restoring  the  desolate  earth  ? 
What  confidence  could  he  have  that  in  the  future  his  life 
and  works  should  be  preserved  from  the  overwhelming 
judgment  that  had  reduced  mankind  to  a  single  house- 
hold ?  That  assurance  came  in  the  promise  which  Je- 
hovah made  to  Noah ;  and  the  token  of  that  promise, 
in  accordance  with  the  unvarying  method  of  divine  deal- 
ing with  man,  was  so  chosen  as  to  preserve  the  covenant 
in  perpetual  remembrance.  In  this  case  the  covenant 
sign  was  most  beautiful  and  significant. 

It  has  been  widely  supposed  that  the  rainbow  was 
created  after  the  deluge  for  this  purpose.  Its  appear- 
ance has  therefore  been  regarded  as  a  miracle.  There 
seems  to  be  no  ground  for  this  opinion.  There  is  cer- 
tainly nothing  in  the  text  that  compels  such  a  view.  In- 
deed, the  language  may  indicate  the  contrary, — "  I  do 
set  my  bow  in  the  cloud."  "  My  "  bow,  is  language  that 
leaves  in  our  mind  the  impression  of  a  previous  exist- 
ence and  possession,  not  a  new  creation.  "  I  do  set," 
(or  as  it  properly  reads,  I  have  set),  is  language  which 
may  indeed  favor  the  popular  understanding,  provided 
we  give  to  the  word  "  set  "  one  of  its  ordinary  meanings. 
But  in  the  Hebrew  the  word  translated  "  set  "  does  not 
necessarily  signify  made  or  placed  for  the  first  time.  It 
properly  means  to  appoint,  to  set  apart.  This  sense  sur- 
vives in  the  English  word  set  by  which  the  Hebrew  is 
translated.  We  speak  of  a  set  time,  meaning  an  appointed 
time.  We  speak  of  one's  setting  apart  an  object  for  a 
special  purpose,  meaning  simply  that  we  appoint  or  con- 
secrate an  object  already  existing  to  a  new  end  or  sacred 
purpose.  I  have  often  heard  the  expression  "set  the 
day,"  used  as  equivalent  to  "  name "  or  "  fix  the  day," 
especially  in  reference  to  weddings.  We  mav  thus  be- 
lieve that  Almighty  God  called  the  attention  of  Xoah  to 
that  which  he  had  often  seen  before:  saying,  in  effect,  I 
have  set  apart  this  my  bow  in  the  cloud  to  be  hence- 
forth a  token  to  you  of  the  covenant  which  I  have  made. 

Of  course  it  is  obvious  that  if  rain  had  existed,  as  un- 
doubtedly it  already  existed  before  the  time  of  Noah, 


220  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

there  must  also  have  been  a  rainbow.  The  theory  that 
up  to  that  period  the  cradle  and  home  of  the  human  race 
was  watered  by  mist  alone  as  was  the  original  Paradise, 
I  think  untenable.  There  never  could  have  been  a  time 
when  falling  raindrops  coincident  with  the  shining  o\ 
the  sun  would  not  have  produced  the  bended  bow  upon 
the  clouded  heavens.  The  interpretation  of  the  word 
"  set  "  as  above  given  is  that  which  is  now  all  but  uni- 
dly  received;  and  it  may  be  said  that  it  has  not 
been  forced  upon  exege'tical  science  as  some  interpreta- 
tions have  been  by  the  progress  of  physical  science, 
since  it  was  well  known  and  commonly  received  among 
ancient  Jewish  Rabbis,  among  them  the  distinguished 
ami  learned  exegete,  Maimonides. 

I.  The  first  thought  that  meets  us  as  we  look  at  this 
Bow  of  God  in  the  Cloud  is  that  Nature  is  a  Symbol  of 
the  Divine. 

i.  This  truth  is  liable  to  serious  abuse.  There  are 
men  who  make  a  religion  of  the  natural ;  men  who  exalt 
nature  above  the  throne  of  God  ;  men  who  use  the  love 
and  knowledge  o\  the  natural  as  a  lever  to  lift  out  from 
their  own  thoughts  and  those  of  their  fellows  the  old 
faith  in  the  eternal  verities  of  Heaven.  With  others 
"communion  with  Nature"  (as  the  phrase  goes)  i- 
sidered  a  sufficient  substitute  for  the  communion  <^i'  the 
saints.  It  a  Sabbath  day,  bright  with  the  glory  of 
spring,  invites  to  fields  ami  woods,  such  men  will  satisfy 
their  consciences  for  the  neglect  of  public  and  private 
worship   of  God    and    the    religious    duties    of  the  Holy 

by   saying:    I   can  worship  by  watching   tin        i 

-  rolling  upon  the  beach  ;  by  listening  to  the  voices 

of  bird.,  the    music  of  insects,   and    the   rustle    <<\   winds 

amon  3 :  by  walking  through  green  fiel 

climbing   mountain   slopes  ami  filling  my  heart  with  the 

freshness  ami  beauty  oi  the  landscape. 
This  reasoning  is  plausible,  but  it  is  false.     The  altar 

and  sacrifice  of  Noah  preceded  the  How  in  the  cloud; 
they  were  the  cause,  not  the  consequence  of  that  cove- 
nant  of    which    the    rainbow   was    the   external    pi 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD.  221 

This  is  still  the  lawful  order :  first,  the  spiritual  service 
of  sanctuary  worship,  then  the  confirmation  of  physical 
works  ;  first,  the  voice  of  God  at  the  altar,  then  the 
echo  thereof  in  material  nature;  first,  God's  self,  then 
His  symbol.  I  am  firmly  persuaded  that  the  love  of  na- 
ture can  never  be  truly  helpful  if  it  shall  banish  from 
the  soul  the  nobler  devotion  to  God.  Men  must  be 
taught  to  love  Nature  in  subordination  to  Him  who  is 
the  Lord  of  all.  They  are  to  know  that  while  religion 
is  natural,  the  natural  is  not  religion  ;  that  religion  is 
beautiful,  but  the  beautiful  is  not  necessarily  religion. 
Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  religion  in  the  human 
soul.  It  is  an  inexorable  law  of  men's  highest  develop- 
ment, "  Seek  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  right- 
eousness, and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 
No  man  can  safely  reverse  that  order. 

2.  This  is  our  warning  against  the  abuse  of  the  thought 
that  Nature  is  a  symbol  of  the.  Divine.  We  must  think 
also  of  how  to  utilize  the  thought.  The  rainbow  in  the 
cloud  is  beautiful.  No  heart  can  fail  to  be  touched  by 
the  charm  of  its  external  loveliness.  But  that  beauty  is 
greatly  enhanced  when  one  sees  behind  it  the  living 
thought  of  Him  who  stretched  it  beneath  the  cloud,  and 
who  made  it  a  token  forever  of  his  merciful  purpose 
towards  men.  This  presents  very  forcibly  to  our  minds 
what  possibilities  of  spiritual  helpfulness  may  lie  within  all 
natural  phenomena.  We  are  not  to  think  that  all  mate- 
rial creatures  rank  equally  with  the  rainbow  in  symboliz- 
ing divine  truth.  God  has  himself  set  for  us  a  meaning 
within  the  Bow,  and  that  fact  makes  it  pre-eminent  as  a 
symbol.  But  there  is  nothing  which  God  has  made  that 
does  not  express  objectively  some  thought  of  His.  The 
wealth  of  divine  benevolence,  power,  taste,  wisdom,  and 
skill  as  these  lie  locked  up  within  the  treasuries  of  nat- 
ural worlds,  is  being  uncovered  day  by  day.  It  is  our 
privilege  and  duty  to  possess  this  wealth  and  reveal  it  to 
others.  But  we  must  always  insist  for  ourselves  as  well 
as  our  fellows  that  knowledge  and  enjoyment  of  the 
creature  should  never  take  the  place  of  knowledge  and 
enjoyment   of   the  Creator.     God    is  greater  than   His 


222  THE  GOSPEL  TN NATURE. 

works.  To  know  God's  handiwork  is  indeed  the  enlarge- 
ment of  one's  personal  life.  But  to  know  God  Himself 
is  "  life  eternal."  * 

These  sentiments  have  animated  some  of  the  noblest 
spirits  among  the  captains  who  have  led  the  hosts  of 
modern  science  into  paths  of  natural  discover}'.  They 
have  felt  that  "the  secrets  of  the  Lord  are  with  them 
that  fear  Him."  f  Professor  Hentz,  the  father  of  Ameri- 
can Araneology,  was  a  man  of  singularly  devout  spirit. 
He  never  entered  his  study-door  without  stopping  a  mo- 
ment in  silent  prayer  beneath  a  picture  of  the  All-seeing 
Eye  which  he  himself  had  made.  Indeed,  the  constant 
pressure  of  his  forehead  against  the  door  while  in  the 
act  of  silent  devotion  left  an  indelible  mark.J  It  was 
thus  that  he  prepared  himself  to  question  the  mysterious 
oracle  of  Nature  whose  utterance  seemed  to  him  to  voice 
th     Word  of  God. 

The  late  Professor  A.  A.  Hodge  has  related  this  in- 
cident: It  was  my  inestimable  privilege  as  a  boy  to  be 
a  student  of  that  great  Christian  philosopher,  Pro! 
Joseph  Henry.  I  was  his  assistant  in  the  laboratory 
when  he  made  a  series  of  experiments  which  establish- 
ed the  possibility  of  the  electric  telegraph.  He  was  a 
very  reverent  man.  I  shall  never  forget  how  when  hi 
had  completed  his  arrangements,  and  the  moment  had 
arrived  when  he  would  put  nature  to  her  crucial  test,  Ik 
bowed  his  uncovered  head  and  said,  "  I  have  asked  God 
a  question;  let  us  await  his  answer."§ 

1  remember  a  striking  sentence  in  the  eulogy  upon 
Professor  Henry  which  I  heard  pronounced  by  Profes- 
sor Mayer  at  the  Boston  meeting  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  The  speaker 
was  drawing  a  parallel  between  Joseph  Henry  and 
Michael  Faraday,  and  said:  "They  both  loved  science 
more  than  money,  and  their  Creator  more  than  either."!! 


•John  xvii.  3.    fPs.  xxv.  11.    t  Nicholas  Marcellus  II 
Mi>      "The  Spiders  <>t  the  United  States,"  page   11,   Pi 

iphical  Notes  by  Edward  Burcbss.  '.'lire  anecdote  was 
toldin  Dr.  Hodge's  "  Popular  Lectures  on  Theological  ["hemes" 
1 1887) :  but  I  do  not  find  it  in  the  printed  lectures.  ||  I  quote  from 
memory. 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD.  223 

In  view  of  such  facts,  what  contradiction  can  there 
ever  be  between  true  science  and  exegetical  theology  ? 
Science  is  but  the  exegesis  of  God's  revelation  in  na- 
ture; the  minute  unfolding  and  classifying  of  his  works; 
even  as  Theology  is  the  interpretation  and  systematiz- 
ing of  the  truths  of  his  Word.  One  should  protest  in 
behalf  both  of  Revealed  and  Natural  Theology  against 
any  effort  of  godless  savans  on  one  extreme,  and  short- 
sighted divines  on  the  other,  to  put  the  Bible  and 
science  in  hostility.  They  are  one,  and  of  One.  What 
God  hath  joined  let  no  man  put  asunder  ! 

I  welcome  the  man  of  science  with  his  carefully 
gleaned  facts  into  the  domain  of  theology.  Whether 
his  field  has  been  the  highest  of  God's  works,  man  him- 
self, or  the  very  lowest,  the  insignificant  radiates  and 
molluscs,  they  all  throw  light  upon  the  First  Great 
Cause,  the  Infinite  Creative  Mind — the  God  whom  we 
adore.  Not  the  smallest  fact  is  without  its  value  in  our 
common  search  after  God ;  even  the  driest  details  of 
science  have  their  counterparts  in  the  "jot"  and  the 
"  tittle  "  of  the  Bible  student,  the  intricacies  of  Hebrew 
points  and  roots,  of  Greek  particles  and  accents.  If  at 
times  our  supposed  facts  seem  to  clash,  it  is  no  more 
than  is  seen  among  theologians  and  scientists  as  separ- 
ate classes  whose  facts  and  deductions  we  know  often 
enough  have  joined  issue,  science  with  science  and  theo- 
logy with  theology.  Moreover,  on  both  sides  supposed 
facts  have  often  proved  to  be  the  merest  fancies,  and 
certain  deductions  the  wildest  theories. 

It  would  be  an  iniquity  for  which  there  could  be  no 
reparation,  I  had  almost  said  no  forgiveness,  were  the 
Christians  of  this  generation  to  allow  a  divorce  between 
natural  science  and  revealed  religion ;  to  hand  over  the 
realm  of  nature  to  the  undevout  man  of  science,  and 
silence  thus  the  voice  that  calls  Christ's  own  disciples 
from  "  Nature  up  to  Nature's  God,"  and  through  Na- 
ture's God  to  Nature.  The  study  of  nature  especially 
belongs  to  the  Christian ;  a  renewed  heart  is  a  necessary 
qualification  to  the  highest  attainments  in  that  field ;  for 
it  brings  the  mind  of  the  inquirer  into  sympathy  with 
the  mind   of  the  great  Designer;    the  pupil  with  the 


224  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Author  of  all  ;  the  apprentice  with  the   Master  Archi- 
tect and  Builder  of  the  material  universe. 

To  the  undevout  nature  is  simply  a  workshop;  to 
the  Christian  it  is  a  voice  ;  to  the  scientist  who  strives, 
waits,  plods,  and  pries,  she  grudgingly  yields  up  rich 
knowledge  of  her  wonderful  construction  and  powers. 
To  the  saint  she  opens  at  once  the  inner  chamber  of 
her  most  hallowed  mysteries  and  speaks  of  her  Creator 
God.  But  when  the  saint  is  also  a  man  of  science  there 
are  ten  thousand  tongues,  mute  to  others,  with  which 
she  whispers  the  Goodness  and  Greatness  of  the  Al- 
mighty.  May  God  speed  the  day  when  Faith  shall  lend 
new  zeal  to  Science  ;  and  Science  shall  give  new  strength 
to  Faith!  Then  shall  be  established  the  true  relation 
between  the  science  of  God's  created  things,  and  the 
science  of  God  himself.  Then  shall  every  natural  fact 
in  God's  worlds,  like  the  Bow  in  the  cloud,  become  for 
man  a  sacrament,  a  material  sign  of  a  spiritual  truth,  a 
token  tangible,  audible,  visible  of  the  Divine  Thought 
that  lies  therein  or  under  it. 

II.  Another  thought  which  the  Bow  in  the  Cloud 
brings  to  us  is  that  God  has  covered  with  the  protection 
of  his  covenant  the  inferior  creatures  of  the  earth. 

The  rainbow  is  not  only  a  sign  of  God's  purpose  to 
protect  men  from  universal  destruction  by  a  deluge,  but. 
guarantees  like  protection  to  the  fowl  of  heaven  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the 
knowledge  of  this  fact  is  'possessed  by  the  brute  crea- 
tures, but  they  have  the  benefit  of  the  fact  through  the 
knowledge  which  man  possesses.  It  is  needful  that  man 
should  emphasize  to  his  own  thought  the  truth  which 
Heaven  has  here  revealed. 

We  may  not  admit  the  community  of  man  and  the 
lower  orders,  as  asserted  by  advocates  of  the  philosophic 
tii.-.  >ry  of  evolution,  and  may  not  therefore  hold  that  God's 
covenant  covers  man  and  beast  on  the  ground  that  they 
are  of  common  origin.  Vet  certainly  there  is  a  com- 
munity of  interest  and  destiny  which  is  manifest  in  many 
ways.  The  domestic  cattle  ami  fowl,  for  example,  arc 
close  sharers  with  man  in  the  incidents  and  accidents  oi 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD.  225 

life.  The  earliest  stages  of  human  development  in  civil- 
ization are  marked  by  the  establishment  of  flocks  and 
herds.*  The  faithful,  patient,  and  laborious  brute  friends 
and  servants  of  man  have  largely  contributed  to  his  suc- 
cesses and  advancement  in  all  ages  and  races.  Cold 
and  heat,  hunger  and  thirst  they  share  in  common  with 
their  masters  ;  they  suffer  when  he  suffers  ;  their  content 
is  enlarged  as  his  happiness  increases. 

This  last  at  least  should  be  the  rule.  "  The  merciful 
man  is  merciful  to  his  beast."  He  recognizes  the  right 
of  the  dumb  creature  also  to  the  possession  of  earth. 
What !  Has  the  brute  rights  ?  Yes  !  The  Magna  Charta 
of  animal  rights  is  older  than  any  mere  human  char- 
ter, for  it  is  written  in  the  flaming  colors  of  the  Bow  of 
God's  Covenant  upon  the  cloud  of  God's  heaven,  by  the 
hand  of  God  himself.  The  sanctions  of  religion  unite 
with  human  interests  and  the  claims  of  kindliness  to  vin- 
dicate the  right  of  God's  dumb  creatures  to  fair  and 
merciful  treatment  by  men.  We  may  rule  them,  but  not 
tyrannize  over  them.  We  may  use  them,  but  not  misuse 
them.  We  may  train  them  for  our  service,  but  not 
abuse  them  in  our  service  or  for  our  sport.  We  may 
even  exercise  the  last  and  highest  prerogative  of  sov- 
ereignty and  slay  them,  but  must  spare  them  needless 
suffering. 

It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  find  a  word  for  the  feeling 
which  is  here  described.  "Humanity"  expresses  kind 
treatment  to  our  fellow-men.  One  can  scarcely  venture 
to  apply  the  word  to  kind  treatment  of  beasts;  yet  I  do 
not  think  it  an  incongruity  that  some  American  organiza- 
tions for  protecting  animals  from  cruelty  are  known  as 
"  Humane"  Societies.  Certainly  no  man  of  humanity  can 
be  unkind  to  a  brute.  No  man  who  is  persistently  cruel  to 
the  lower  orders  will  rise  to  the  height  of  kindliness  to- 
wards his  fellow-men.  Nay,  no  man  who  abuses  animals 
can  well  mount  to  a  high  order  of  manhood  in  any  re- 
spect. Thus  closely,  at  least,  we  are  bound  together  in 
community  of  nature,  interest,  and  destiny.  We  may 
allow  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  suggest  the  word  which  we 
seek.     It   is   written,  "A   righteous   man   regardeth   the 

*  Gen.  iv.  20. 


226  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

life  of  his  beast."*  Kindly  regard  for  the  beast,  then, 
if  not  humanity,  is  righteousness.  Surely  it  is  an  act  of 
righeousness  to  cover  with  the  hand  of  human  authority 
and  protection  those  helpless  creatures  whom  God  has 
committed  to  us  for  our  proper  use,  but  whom  He 
has  not  withdrawn  from  beneath  his  own  providential 
care. 

Yes,  providential  care!  That  covenant  of  mercy  to- 
wards beasts  which  God  established  with  Noah,  and  of 
which  the  Bow  in  the  Cloud  was  the  sign,  was  reaffirmed 
by  the  Author  of  the  Christian  religion.  Said  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ :  "Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing  ? 
and  one  of  them  shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  without 
your  Father."  t  I  like  the  definition  of  God's  providence 
which  is  familiar  to  a  multitude  of  children  in  Great 
Britain  and  America,  and  which  the  children  of  the  Pil- 
grim and  Puritan  fathers  knew  well — "  God's  works  of 
providence  are  his  most  holy,  wise,  and  powerful  pre- 
serving and  governing  all  His  creatures  and  all  their  ac- 
tions.";*; Think  of  it !  from  an  Archangel  to  an  ant; 
from  the  order  of  a  Lincoln  that  elevates  to  freemen  four 
millions  of  slaves,  to  the  first  frail  spinning  work  that 
lifts  the  baby  spiderling  into  the  air — the  Divine  provi- 
dence extends  with  wise  and  loving  interest  and  control. 
Verily,  such  Christian  teaching  should  compel  from  its 
disciples  a  cordial  sympathy  with  God's  dumb  creatures, 
and  all  who  would  interpose  between  them  and  human 
cruelty  the  spirit  of  that  Protecting  Covenant  which  bent 
above  them  in  the  days  of  Noah.  I  wonder  that  some 
one  has  not  suggested  to  such  societies  that  among  the 
symbols  of  their  seals  and  heraldic  devices  the  rainbow 
might  be  introduced  as  a  most  fitting  and  beautiful  em- 
blem. 

One  can  scarcely  touch  this  subject  without  alluding 
to  vivisection.  The  term  is  applied  to  a  form  of  experi- 
menting by  physiologists  and  naturalists  which  requires 
the  cutting  and  mutilating  of  living  animals.  The  al- 
leged purpose  of  such  experimenting  is,  for  the  m<>st 
part,  the  protection  of  human  life.     The  effects  of  medi- 

iv.  xii.   ro.     f  Matt.  x.  29.     \  Westminster  Shorter  Cate- 
chism.    Question  11. 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD.  227 

cines  upon  the  animal  system,  the  successful  modes  of 
treating  certain  diseases  or  accidents,  these  and  such  like 
problems  men  have  attempted  to  solve  in  the  laboratory 
by  experimenting  upon  domestic  animals. 

Now,  I  think  it  must  be  granted  that  the  custom  can- 
not be  wholly  condemned.  The  higher  interests  of  man, 
the  protection  of  human  life,  the  amelioration  of  human 
misery,  the  solution  of  problems  that  may  bring  life, 
health,  and  happiness  to  vast  numbers  of  the  human 
species — surely  these  are  ends  of  such  value  as  to 
justify  the  sacrifice  of  dogs,  rabbits,  and  cats.  Just  in 
so  far  as  humanity  demands  the  sacrifice  it  seems  to 
me  that  it  may  be  made.  But  the  sacrificial  knife  should 
never  be  drawn  save  by  a  consecrated  hand  upon  a  vic- 
tim sacredly  devoted.  In  other  words,  he  who  is  en- 
gaged in  vivisection  should  be  careful  to  bring  to  it  the 
purest  motives  and  the  most  merciful  methods.  It  can- 
not be  doubted  that  there  has  been  much  cruelty,  most 
unjustifiable  cruelty,  wrought  upon  helpless  brutes  in  the 
name  of  medical  and  natural  science;  experiments  which 
brought  torment  to  living  creatures  have  been  made 
time  and  again,  not  to  verify  facts,  for  these  have  al- 
ready been  sufficiently  established  and  fortified,  but 
simply  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  students.  The  work 
of  vivisection  has  often  fallen  into  heedless  hands. 
Young  men,  and  men  of  irresponsible  positions,  have 
taken  it  up  without  due  consideration  of  the  rights  of 
dumb  creatures,  whom  they  torture  in  their  tyro-efforts 
to  imitate  the  experiments  of  men  of  character  and  ge- 
nius occupying  responsible  positions.  Herein  lies  the 
chief  danger  of  this  modern  mode  of  experimentation. 
While  I  do  not  declare  against  vivisection  itself,  when 
practiced  under  righteous  and  humane  restrictions,  I 
must  declaim  with  all  my  heart  against  the  radical  abuses 
of  it.  Surely  it  ought  to  stay  such  abuses  to  remember 
that  all  the  creatures  of  God  are  spanned  beneath  that 
covenant  sign  of  his  protecting  mercy  banded  on  the 
clouds  above  Ararat  and  repeated  in  every  Bow  in  the 
Cloud  since  then. 

There  is  another  point  to  which  I  may  allude,  viz, 
the  needless  cruelty  inflicted   oftentimes    in    collecting 


228  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

specimens  of  living  things  for  private  and  public  cabi- 
nets. The  fact  that  a  man  wants  to  enrich  the  treasures 
of  a  collection  of  beetles,  butterflies,  ants,  spiders,  or 
other  creatures  of  sea  and  earth,  does  not  justify  him  in 
inflicting  cruel  pains  upon  the  lower  creatures  whom  he 
covets  for  his  museum.  There  are  few  specimens  really- 
required  for  the  use  of  man  that  may  not  be  collected 
by  methods  that  give  painless  death.  The  naturalist 
may  rightly  think  that  as  a  priest  in  the  temple  of  Sci- 
ence and  in  behalf  of  Science  he  can  sacrifice  the  life  of 
the  inferior  creatures  that  inhabit  the  world  with  him. 
It  may  be  said  that  this  life  exists  in  such  excess,  is  ex- 
posed to  such  constant  inroads  from  all  quarters,  and 
withal  is  so  comparatively  unimportant,  that  one  may 
well  anticipate  the  inevitable  doom  by  taking  the  life 
which  scientific  progress  requires.  But  I  prefer  to  base 
the  act,  when  required  by  legitimate  science,  upon  that 
dominion  which  God  has  given  man  over  inferior  ani- 
mals, even  to  the  taking  of  life.  That  sovereignty  must 
be  exercised  as  one  shall  answer  to  God.  And  in  its 
exercise  no  pain  should  be  inflicted  upon  any  creature 
which  it  is  possible  to  avoid.  Every  man  should  hold 
himself  under  the  highest  obligations  to  spare  all  need- 
less sufferings,  and  limit  destruction  to  the  necessities  of 
the  case. 

A  public  speaker  always  ventures  upon  dangerous 
ground  when  he  attempts  to  criticise  anything  relating 
to  human  dress,  especially  the  dress  of  ladies.  But 
there  is  one  point  to  which  our  subject  directly  tends 
that  in  spite  of  these  possible  dangers  ought  not  to  be 
passed  by.  One  can  readily  conceive  a  conjunction  of 
circumstances  something  like  this — a  pastor  looks  from 
his  pulpit  through  a  church  window,  and  sees  a  rainbow 
spanning  an  eastern  cloud — the  symbol  of  God's  cove- 
nant to  protect  the  fowls  of  the  air.  Returning  thence 
his  glance  to  his  own  congregation,  this  pastor  might 
behold  all  the  colors  of  that  rainbow  reflected  into  his 
face  from  the  nodding  feathers  of  wings,  torn  from  beau- 
tiful fowls  of  heaven  and  birds  of  the  air,  to  decorate 
the  hats,  bonnets  and  cloaks  of  the  children  and  ladies 
in  the  pews !     Now,  I  do  not  enter  upon  the  question 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CL O UD.  22g 

how  far  it  is  lawful  for  us  to  use  our  right  over  the  life 
of  birds  and  beasts  for  the  purpose  of  clothing  and' 
adorning  the  human  person.  We  may  consider  it  set- 
tled that  such  acts  are  lawful  when  required  as  contri- 
butions to  the  protection  and  comfort  of  our  bodies. 
But  even  if  we  regard  as  unsettled  the  question  of  our 
right  to  use  such  objects  for  purely  ornamental  purposes, 
we  must  admit  that  there  is  an  extreme  against  which 
it  is  our  duty  to  protest,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  we 
have  not  simply  verged  upon,  but  have  overpassed  that 
extreme.  It  has  come  about  that  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  of  the  beautiful  plumage  birds  of  our  country, 
our  noble  water  fowl  and  bright-hued  wood  birds,  are 
slaughtered  every  season  by  the  paid  hunters  of  milliners 
and  exporters  of  bird  skins.  Even  the  song  birds,  the 
sweet  companions  of  our  summer  hours,  whose  modest 
plumage  one  might  think  would  protect  them  from  such 
assaults,  are  not  spared,  but  are  slain  along  with  the  rest 
in  the  confidence  that  human  art  and  dye  stuff  can  render 
them  suitable  objects  for  the  milliner's  use.  We  are  in 
danger,  in  actual  danger  of  having  our  native  bird  fauna 
exterminated.  The  melody,  good  cheer  and  sweetness 
which  would  thus  be  lost  to  our  life  surroundings  are 
considerations  of  high  moment.  But  apart  from  these, 
the  material  interests  of  the  country  would  suffer  in  this 
loss  by  destroying  one  of  those  natural  checks  upon  the 
inroads  of  insect  life  which  preserves  for  us  the  balance 
of  nature,  and  so  is  an  important  factor  in  agricultural 
economy.  As  long  as  ladies  indulge  this  taste  for  deco- 
rating their  persons  with  the  wings  and  bodies  of  birds, 
just  so  long  will  the  importers  and  jobbers  in  milliners' 
goods  keep  their  enginery  of  destruction  in  cruel  and 
murderous  play  upon  the  "fowls  of  the  air."  Will  the 
ladies  continue  this  indulgence  ?  Shall  the  cry  of  alarm 
raised  by  naturalists,  and  by  such  an  organization  as  the 
Audubon  Society  for  the  protection  of  birds  and  by  the 
kindly  hearted  friends  of  animal  life,  be  heard  in  the 
parlors  and  homes  of  American  women?  Surely  the 
gentle  hearts  of  our  Christian  maids  and  matrons,  who 
are  so  ready  to  respond  to  the  calls  of  mercy,  will  hear 
this  plea  of  the  suffering  birds,  and,  remembering  the 


230  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

rainbow  token  of  God's  covenant  to  protect  both  beasts 
'  of  the  field  and  fowls  of  the  air,  will  rise  in  revolt  against 
a  fashion  which  has  in  it  no  claim  of  necessity,  but  which 
is  stained  a  thousand  times  over  with  the  blood  of 
slaughtered  creatures  of  God  !  Will  you,  fair  maid,  will 
you,  kind  matron,  give  your  example  and  voice  to  an  act 
so  truly  godlike? 

III.  A  lesson  which  the  Bow  in  the  Cloud  is  espe- 
cially designed  to  teach,  is  the  truth  of  God's  Covenant 
Faithfulness,  and  that  Peace  of  mind  which  results  from 
trust  therein. 

The  promise  to  Noah  is  that  nature's  order  shall  be 
preserved,  and  the  inhabiters  of  earth  never  again  be 
destroyed  by  a  flood.  The  Rainbow  was  made  the 
of  that  promise.  Every  appearance  thereof  brings  to 
man  its  reaffirmation.  It  shows  on  the  vast  scroll  of  the 
firmament  like  the  broad  seal  of  State  upon  a  parchment, 
and  is  the  signal  and  token  of  God's  promise  and  troth. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  every  season-change  brings 
to  us  the  same  manner  of  confirmation.  "  Seed  time  and 
harvest,  cold  and  heat,  summer  and  winter,  day  and 
night,"  *  with  every  recurrence,  are  proofs  to  us  in 
continued  series  that  God  is  making  his  promise  sure. 
These  have  not  failed  to  the  world  of  men.  Nature's 
fixed  order  goes  on,  Heaven's  guarantee  to  earth  of  an 
unbroken  covenant  of  natural  blessings. 

This  should  bring  confidence  and  hope  to  mankind. 
God's  hand  is  on  the  world,  and  He  will  control  it  for 
good  to  the  heirs  of  his  promise.  "  The  voice  that  rolls 
the  spheres  along  hath  made  the  promises."  Let  us 
trust  the  promises  and  be  at  peace!  This  is  the  lesson 
which  the  Rainbow  has  always  brought,  and  doubl 
was  intended  to  bring  to  man.  It  has  been  beautifully 
emphasized  by  more  than  one  of  our  English  poets. 

"  When  thou  dost  shine,  darkness  looks  white  and  fair, 
I •'.  .nns  turn  to  music,  clouds  to  smiles  and  air  : 
Rain  gently  spends  his  honey-drops,  and  pours 
Balm  on  the  cleft  earth,  milk  on  grass  and  Rowers. 

*Gen.  viii.  22. 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD.  23  I 

"  Bright  pledge  of  peace  and  sunshine  !  the  sure  tie 
Of  thy  Lord's  hand,  the  object  of  His  eye  ! 
When  I  behold  thee,  though  my  light  be  dim, 
Distinct,  and  low,  I  can  in  thine  see  Him 
Who  looks  upon  thee  from  His  glorious  throne, 
And  minds  the  covenant  betwixt  all  and  One."  * 


The  following  lines  are  from  Campbell's  poem  : — 

"  When  o'er  the  green  undeluged  earth 
Heaven's  covenant  thou  didst  shine, 
How  came  the  world's  gray  fathers  forth 
To  watch  thy  sacred  sign  ! 

"  And  when  its  yellow  lustre  smiled 
O'er  monntains  yet  untrod, 
Each  mother  held  aloft  her  child 
To  bless  the  bow  of  God. 

"  How  glorious  is  thy  girdle  cast 
O'er  mountain,  tower,  and  town, 
Or  mirrored  in  the  ocean  vast, 
A  thousand  fathoms  down  ! 

"As  fresh  in  yon  horizon  dark, 
As  young  thy  beauties  seem, 
As  when  the  eagle  from  the  ark 
First  sported  in  thy  beam. 

"  For  faithful  to  its  sacred  page, 
Heaven  still  rebuilds  thy  span, 
Nor  lets  the  type  grow  pale  with  age 
That  first  spoke  peace  to  man."  f 

Man's  life  is  within  the  protecting  covenant  of  God. 
Surely  this  is  a  truth  well  calculated  to  bring  peace  to 
the  heart.  God  governs  man  and  all  things  around  him 
in  accordance  with  an  appointed  order,  and  He  seeks  to 
bring  man  himself  into  obedience  to  that  order.  In  such 
knowledge  and  obedience  his  heart  must  surely  have 
rest.  His  life  does  not  drift  at  haphazard,  but  is  guided 
by  beneficent  law.  That  log  floating  along  the  current 
you  say  is  drifting.  Yonder  balloon  scudding  through 
the  air  you  say  is  drifting.  That  downy  seed  of  dande- 
lion or  thistle  rising  from  the  parent  stalk  and  floating 

*  Henry  Vaughn — "The  Rainbow."      f  Thomas  Campbell — 
"  To  the  Rainbow." 


232  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

across  the  meadow  is  drifting.  Not  so  !  The  log  on 
the  current,  the  balloon  in  the  sky,  the  seed  upon  the 
meadow  breeze  are  all  carried  forward  by  laws  as  fixed, 
wise  and  benevolent  as  those  that  guide  the  stars  and 
planets  in  their  orbits.  If  drifting  means  a  work  of  sim- 
ple chance,  you  cannot  apply  the  word  to  such  acts  as 
those.  Much  less  can  you  use  it  of  human  souls  under 
the  hand  and  government  of  God  the  Creator.  In  Provi- 
dence there  is  no  such  thing  as  drifting.  However  it 
may  seem  to  our  eyes,  the  unseen  Hand  Divine  surely 
directs  all  our  ways.  Every  vision  of  the  Bow  in  the 
Cloud  should  confirm  us  in  the  belief  of  this  truth,  and 
strengthen  our  trust  in  Him  who  is  governing  the 
worlds  over  us  and  for  us  in  accordance  with  the  prom- 
ise which  he  has  made  of  preservation  by  order  and 
law. 

The  winning  yacht  "  Coronet,"  according  to  the  log 
that  was  telegraphed  to  us  a  few  days  ago,  passed  through 
a  terrible  storm  which  severely  tried  and  indeed  threat- 
ened the  existence  of  the  vessel.  But  after  awhile,  says 
the  log,  the  yacht  passed  into  a  centre  of  calm,  and 
then  the  men  had  much  needed  rest.  That  is  a  curious 
fact  with  these  hurricanes  that  blow  across  the  ocean. 
There  is  always  an  outlying,  swirling,  tossing,  death- 
threatening  margin  of  storm.  Once  past  that  and  within 
there  is  a  centre  of  quiet.  Ah,  how  like  the  storms  of 
this  life,  an  ocean  beaten  up  by  the  gales,  yeasting,  froth- 
ing, roaring  and  heaving  with  storm-driven  waves  !  Yet, 
ever  there  is  a  restful  centre  ;  it  is  the  bosom  of  our  God, 
and  there  we  can  always  find  rest. 

Let  us  remember,  too,  that  always  the  light  of  loving 
help  speeds  to  us  more  swiftly  than  the  bolt  of  our  sor- 
row. 

And  see  what  joyous  greeting 

The  sun  through  heaven  has  shed, 
Though  fast  yon  shower  be  fleeting 

I  lis  beams  have  faster  s\ 
For  lo !  above  the  western  haze 

High  towers  the  rainbow  arch 
In  solid  span  of  purest  rays  ; 

How  stately  is  its  march  !* 


*Keble — "The  Christian  Year."  25th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 


THE  BOW  IN  THE  CLOUD.  233 

I  was  once  traveling  on  a  Union  Pacific  train  across 
the  great  western  plains  when  we  were  overtaken  by  a 
storm.  Off  to  our  right  the  rain  descended  with  such 
fury  that  it  obscured  earth  and  sky.  The  ragged  margin 
of  the  rainfall  reached  as  far  as  the  railway  and  beat 
against  the  windows  of  the  cars.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  train  the  sunlight  poured  through  the  windows 
with  summer  intensity  and  brightness.  The  result  was 
that  for  several  miles  we  sped  along  under  a  rainbow. 
It  was  indeed  a  striking  picture  of  the  mingled  storm 
and  sunshine  of  this  life  of  ours.  At  one  moment  of  our 
pilgrimage  there  is  gladness,  at  another  grief.  Nay,  in 
the  same  moment  there  will  be  on  the  one  side  the  buffet- 
ing of  care  and  adversity,  and  on  the  other  the  sweet- 
ness of  love  and  success.  But  above  all  this  commin- 
gling of  storm  and  sunshine  it  should  never  be  forgotten 
that  for  every  soul  there  may  be,  and  there  should  be 
that  bended  Bow  of  God  radiant  with  the  promise  of  a 
hope  whose  beginning  brightens  this  life  and  whose 
eternal  continuance  is  the  glory  of  the  life  immortal. 

He  who  has  learned  the  lesson  to  rest  upon  God 
amidst  the  tumults  of  this  life  maybe  assured  that  there 
shall  come  for  him  after  life's  stormy  day  "  the  Saints' 
Everlasting  Rest."  Longfellow  has  beautifully  suggested 
this  thought  by  following  the  drops  of  a  summer  rain- 
storm in  their  circuit  through  the  fountains  of  the  earth 
and  the  water-courses,  up  again  to  the  cloud  on  which 
the  bow  of  God  is  setting  : — 

For  his  thought  that  never  stops 
Follows  the  water  drops 
Down  to  the  graves  of  the  dead, 

Down  through  chasms  and  gulfs  profound, 
To  the  dreary  fountain-head 

Of  lakes  and  rivers  under  ground  ; 
And  sees  them,  when  the  rain  is  done, 

On  the  bridge  of  colors  seven 

Climbing  up  once  more  to  heaven, 
Opposite  the  setting  sun.* 

Yes,  it  is  when  the  sun  is  setting  that  the  the  rain- 
bow oftenest  appears ;   and  it  appears   upon  the  black 

*  Longfellow's  Poems — "  Rain  in  Summer." 


234  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

thunder-cloud  out  of  which  the  sharp  showers  and  the 
forked  lightnings  have  just  emptied  themselves,  and  as 
the  cloud  is  rolling  away  beyond  the  horizon.  Beautiful 
symbol  of  immortal  peace!  When  death's  dark  cloud 
has  overswept  this  life  and  passed  away  forever  beyond 
the  horizon  of  experience — lo!  above  the  open  coffin 
and  the  closing  grave,  far  above,  upon  that  vaulted  sky 
into  which  the  soul  has  passed,  the  bridge  of  colors 
seven  is  spread  for  us,  and  over  it  we  pass  into  the  un- 
fading glory  of  our  God. 


LECTURE  XIII. 


The 
Rainbow  around  the  Throne. 

'•'-And  there  was  a  rainbow  round  about  the  throne  like 
an  emerald  to  look  upon.  *  *  *  And  in  the  midst  of 
the  throne,  and  round  about  the  throne,  four  living  creatures 
full  of  eyes  before  and  behind.  And  the  first  creature  was 
like  a  lion,  and  the  second  creature  like  a  calf  and  the 
third  creature  had  the  face  as  of  a  man,  and  the  fourth 
creature  zaas  like  a  flying  eagle.  And  the  four  living 
creatures,  having  each  one  of  them  six  icings,  are  full  of 
eyes  round  about  and  within  :  and  they  have  no  rest  day  or 
night,  saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  God,  the  Al- 
mighty, which  zaas  and  which  is  and  which  is  to  come.'''1 — 
Revelation  iv.  2,  4,  6,  7. 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUND  THE  THRONE. 


John's  vision  of  the  Divine  Glory  of  which  this  text 
is  a  part  cannot  be  understood  without  reference  to 
Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  wheels.*  The  two  prophets  evi- 
dently had  in  view  the  same  objects ;  or,  if  the  state- 
ment be  preferred,  their  minds  were  similarly  impressed 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  witnessing  and  declaring  the  glory 
of  God.  What  was  the  vision  of  Ezekiel  ?  Briefly 
stated,  the  priest-prophet  at  Chebar  beheld  a  thunder- 
storm rolling  out  of  the  north ;  its  massive  clouds  were 
radiant  with  vivid  lightnings  and  resounding  with  thun- 
ders, an  emblem  of  judgment  and  divine  anger.  From 
the  midst  of  this  sublime  tumult  there  arose  four  Living 
Forms,  strange  composite  creatures — symbols  of  the 
cherubim.  They  had  the  general  likeness  of  a  man. 
They  were  four-winged,  two  pairs  of  wings  were  out- 
spread above  them  touching  at  the  tips,  and  two  served 
as  drapery  to  their  bodies.  They  were  four-faced,  bear- 
ing the  features  of  a  man  in  front,  of  a  lion  on  the  right, 
an  ox  on  the  left,  and  that  of  an  eagle  behind  or  oppo- 
site the  human  face.  They  were  eight-armed,  two 
human  hands  being  placed  beneath  each  face  and  the 
wings.  In  the  midst  of  these  Living  Forms,  intertwin- 
ing among  and  outflashing  from  them,  were  glimmer- 
ings of  fires,  as  of  torches,  and  flashes  of  lightning. 
Beside  each  one  was  placed  a  wheel  whose  felloes  ex- 
tended heavenward,  high  and  dreadful,  and  were  filled 
with  eyes  round  about — the  emblems  of  action,  intelli- 
gence, progress,  omnipotence.  Above  the  heads  of 
these  Living  Forms  was  stretched  a  crystal  firmament; 
above  the  firmament  a  throne  as  of  a  sapphire  stone, 
and  upon  the  throne  a  Likeness  as  the  appearance  of 
man.  The  throne  was  girdled  about  with  amber  fire, 
and  around  the   Human  Form  was  "  as  the  appearance 

*Ezek.  i. 

(237) 


23S  THE  GOSPEL  IN  X ATI' RE. 

of  the  bow  that  is  in  the  cloud  in  the  day  of  rain." 
This,  adds  the  prophet,  was  "  the  appearance  of  the  like- 
ness of  the  glory  of  God." 

In  the  vision  of  St.  John,  the  order  of  description  is 
reversed.  Ezekiel  begins  with  the  cloud-base  and  so 
passes  upward  to  the  supporting  columns  of  Living 
Forms  bearing  aloft  upon  their  expanded  wings  the 
domed  firmament,  and  having  beside  them  the  animated 
wheels  as  of  the  very  chariot  of  the  Lord.  Thence  his 
vision  rises  to  the  sapphire  throne  with  its  issuing  amber 
flames,  to  the  Manlike  Form  upon  it,  and  last  of  all,  to 
the  overarching  rainbow.  On  the  other  hand,  John's 
glance  is  first  at  the  throne,  at  Him  who  sits  upon  it  and 
the  rainbow  bending  above  it.  It  is  noticeable  that  the 
thought  of  Ezekiel  passes  in  orderly  sequence  from  the 
base  to  the  summit  of  his  visional  object,  surveying  every 
detail  in  succession.  On  the  contrary,  after  the  first 
glimpse  of  the  throne  and  its  Occupants,  John's  atten- 
tion passes  from  one  object  to  another,  not  in  orderly 
succession  but  from  point  to  point  overleaping  inter- 
vening objects  and  then  returning  to  cover  them. 

Nevertheless  we  can  arrange  the  succession  without 
any  difficulty  and  trace  the  resemblances  and  differences 
between  his  vision  and  Ezekiel's.  There  are  the  lightnings 
issuing  from  beneath  the  throne.  There  are  the  four 
Living  Forms,  except  that  they  are  not  combined  in  one 
person  but  each  represents  a  separate  personality;  more- 
oxer,  the  calf-face  has  taken  the  place  of  the  ox,  and 
the  cherubim  are  six  instead  of  four-winged.  The  crys- 
tal firmament  of  Ezekiel  appears  to  John  as  a  glassy 
crystal  sea.  The  wheels  of  Ezekiel  disappear,  although 
the  eyes  upon  the  felloes  of  the  wheels  are  trans- 
ferred  to  the  wings  of  the  cherubim.  But  in  their 
place  John  sees,  first  the  symbol  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
seven  burning  lamps,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of 
God;  ami  second,  the  twenty-four  thrones  on  which 
are  the  twenty-four  crowned  Elders  robed  in  white. 
The  storm-clouds  with  their  lightnings  which  formed 
the  basis,  the  chariot-bed,  so  to  speak,  of  Ezekiel's 
visional  appearance  do  not  appear  in  John's;  but  in 
their  stead  we  have  the  voices  of  worship,  offered  by  the 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUND  THE  THRONE.       239 

cherubim,  echoed  and  enlarged  by  the  elders,  the  angel 
choir,  and  the  hosts  of  the  Redeemed  in  heaven  and  on 
earth.  More  noticeable  still,  there  appears  upon  the 
throne  a  Figure  standing  beside  the  sitting  Figure  of 
Him  who  was  "like  a  jasper  stone  and  a  sardius." 
This  new  Figure  is  that  "as  of  a  Lamb  that  had  been 
slain."  Bending  above  all,  in  John's  vision  as  well  as 
in  that  of  Ezekiel's,  there  is  the  "  rainbow  round  about 
the  throne." 

The  lesson  which  I  would  have  you  learn  from  the 
Rainbow  as  it  thus  appears  in  these  visions  is  this  :  Crea- 
tion is  subordinate  to  God,  is  united,  harmonious  and  ac- 
tive in  His  government  and  service,  and  the  whole  dome 
of  nature  and  Providence  is  covered  with  the  Covenant 
of  Divine  Mercy  renewed  and  perfected  in  Jesus  Christ. 
This  is  a  series  of  truths  which  are  bound  in  one  sweet 
lesson  by  the  beautiful  emblem  which  God  appointed  in 
the  days  of  Noah  as  the  symbol  of  His  promise  of  life 
and  peace.  In  the  course  of  this  lecture,  we  shall  con- 
sider these  truths  in  detail. 

I.  We  learn,  first,  the  truth  that  Creation  is  subordi- 
nate to  God. 

The  cherubim  of  Ezekiel  remind  us  of  those  that 
guarded  the  gates  of  Paradise  to  maintain  the  decrees  of 
God  against  erring  man,  lest  he  should  further  violate 
the  natural  conditions  of  his  creation.  They  stand 
guarding  the  throne  of  God,  silent  and  seemingly  wrath- 
ful, if  so  we  may  interpret  the  intertwining  lightnings 
and  torch-fires,  like  repelling  fiery  serpents.  But  on 
their  expanded  wings  they  bear  up  the  crystal  firmament 
that  supports  the  throne.  They  are  the  pillars  of  Divine 
government  in  Nature.  The  cherubim  of  John's  vision 
are  like  Ezekiel's  in  form,  but  different  in  their  active  re- 
lations ;  they  are  not  silent  but  vocal,  and,  in  full  sympa- 
thy with  the  Redeemed  who  chant  their  salvation  song, 
they  themselves  cease  not  day  and  night  to  lift  up  their 
Trisagion  hymn,  "  Holy!  Holy!  Holy!"  But,  in  their 
passive  relations  they  are  one  with  Ezekiel's  cherubim, 
for  they  bear  up  the  crystal  pavement  upon  which  the 
throne  of  Divine  government  is  reared.     It  is  thus  that 


24Q  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NA  Tl  rRE. 

we  come  to  take  these  living  forms  to  represent  the  sub- 
ordination of  the  universe  to  God.  They  are  personifi- 
cations of  natural  power  employed  in  God's  service,  "  as 
standing  on  the  highest  step  of  created  life,  and  uniting 
in  themselves  the  most  perfect  created  life."* 

The  Old  Testament  has  many  beautiful  examples  of 
this  truth  as  it  lay  in  the  minds  of  the  inspired  writers. 
The  universe  was  to  them  the  creation,  the  handiwork  of 
God.  It  existed  not  only  by  the  Divine  Will,  but  in 
continual  obedience  to  and  dependence  upon  it.  The 
Psalter  and  the  Book  of  Job  especially  abound  in  such 
references.  That  splendid  poem  of  Nature  the  104th 
Psalm  may  be  consulted  in  this  connection,  and  t 
passages  in  Job  which  record  Jehovah's  answer  out  of 
the  whirlwind.  I  render  into  English  verse  a  few  stan- 
zas from  the  latter. 

Jehovah's  Answer  to  Job.| 
I. 
(Then  Jehovah  answered  Job  out  of  the  storm,  and  said :  I— 

2  Who  darkeneth  God's  decrees  by  wide 

3  Gird  up  thy  loins  now  with  thy  human  strength : 
I  will  inquire,  and  do  Thou  answer  Me  ! 

II. 

4  When  1  laid  Earth's  foundations,  where  wast  thou? 
I »,  1  lare  it,  if  thou  knowest  how  that  was  done  ' 

5  What  architect  its  plan  computed  ? — say  ! 

( >r  who  hath  laid  on  it  the  measuring  line? 
1  '11  u  lut  foundation  are  its  pillars  sunk  ; 
(  )r  who  hath  laid  the  corner  stone  th<  : 

7  What  time  th<-  Morning  stars  together  sang, 
And  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  forji 

III. 

8  And  who  shut  up  the  sea.  with  doubl 

When  it  brake  through,  and  issued  from  th<   woi 

9  When  I  put  round  it,  for  its  raiment,  <  louds, 
And  thi<  k  mists  as  the  swaddling  clothes  th. 

10  And  measured  out  its  boundaries  for  it. 
And  bars  and  doors  decreed  for  it,  and  said  : 

11  Thou  shah  t  ■  1  rto!    No  further  come ! 
1  lere  be  the  rising  1 A  thy  proud  wav< 

*  Bahr— "  Symbolik."  i.  ;.; '• 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUND  THE  THRONE.       241 

IV. 

12  Hast  thou  in  all  thy  days  bid  forth  the  dawn, 
Or  caused  the  dayspring  once  to  know  its  place  ; 

13  That  it  may  seize  the  fringes  of  the  earth, 
And  shake  the  wicked  out,  as  from  a  rug? — 

14  May  change  the  Earth's  dim  outlines  into  form, 
As  signet-ring  the  face  of  plastic  clay  ; 

And  Nature  stands  forth  from  obscurity 
Appareled  in  the  lovely  robe  of  Day? 

15  Then  from  the  wicked  is  withheld  their  light, — 
For  night  is  light  to  them  !— and  in  the  act 

Of  violence  the  upraised  arm  is  stayed. 

V. 

16  Hast  thou  e'er  reached  the  well-springs  of  the  sea, 
Or  gone  to  the  foundation  of  the  deep  ? 

17  Were  e'er  the  gates  of  Death  unveiled  to  thee, 
And  didst  thou  see  the  gates  of  Hades'  realm  ? 

19  Hast  thou  observed  the  compass  of  the  earth  ? 
Speak,  in  so  far  as  thou  dost  know  all  this  ! 

20  Which  is  the  pathway  to  the  Home  of  Light  ? 
And  Darkness — whither  lies  its  dwelling-place, 

21  That  thou  should'st  guide  each  to  its  utmost  bound, 
And  know  the  paths  back  to  the  house  thereof? 
Ah  !  thou  must  know  it !    for  thou  wast  then  born, 
So  very  great  the  number  of  thy  days  ! 

II.  There  is  something  more  than  a  simple  Subordi- 
nation of  Natural  Forces  taught  in  this  vision  of  St. 
John.  We  learn  that  in  the  plan  of  God  all  Nature  is 
in  Harmonious  Service  with  God. 

Seraphim  and  cherubim,  angels  and  archangels  join 
with  mankind  and  the  animate  world  and  with  all  inani- 
mate nature  to  advance  the  Divine  Glory.  The  whole 
universe  of  intelligent  and  material  creatures  is  repre- 
sented as  built  into  and  enclosed  within  one  mighty 
temple  of  glory  beneath  the  all-enclosing  dome  of  the 
rainbow  which  overarches  the  throne.  In  order  to  get 
this  thought  of  harmonious  service  we  will  need  to  in- 
quire into  the  meaning  of  the  strange  Living  Forms  in 
the  vision — emblems  of  the  Cherubim. 

Undoubtedly  these  forms,  as  Layard  has  suggested,* 
were  familiar  to  Ezekiel  and  to  the  people  whom  he 
addressed,  inasmuch  as  they  are  conceptions  which  be- 
long to  the  common  treasury  of  Oriental  symbolism. 
They  appear  in  the  temple   of  Jerusalem.     They  were 

*  Lavard — "Nineveh,"  ii.  44S;  "Nineveh and  Babylon,"  ii.  643. 


242  THE  GOSPEL   IX  X.  1  77  'RE. 

among  the  most  familiar  art  objects  in  Assyrian  and 
Babylonian  temples  and  palaces.  They  are  seen  in  the 
sphinx  and  other  Egyptian  forms,  and  in  the  griffin  or 
eagle-lion  of  Greece.  It  would  be  useless  to  attempt 
here  a  discussion  of  their  varied  symbolism.  It  will  be 
enough  if  we  see  in  them  the  united  types  of  the 
highest  forms  of  Nature,  spiritualized  and  engaged  in 
harmoniously  supporting  the  throne  of  God  and  con- 
tributing to  his  service. 

It  is  curious,  to  say  the  least,  that  the  animal  types 
which  form  the  composite  symbol  of  the  cherubim,  are, 
by  even  the  latest  students  of  Zoology,  placed  at  the 
head  of  their  respective  natural  families.  The  lion  leads 
the  noble  and   familiar  Felidae  or  Cat  family,  the  fil 

rder  of  Carnivora.*  The  <>x  stands  at  the  head  ol 
the  family  of  Bovidae,  or  hollow-horned  ruminants  as 
they  are  termed,  including  the  oxen,  buffaloes, antelopes, 
sheep  and  goats.f  The  eagle  leads  the  raptorial  birds 
in  rank,  standing  at  the  he. id  of  the  family  Vulturidae  of 
the  order  Accipitres.J  Man  himself,  of  course,  is  the 
highest  of  all  the  creative  forms  of  Earth.  Surely,  it 
1  not  have  been  by  mere  chance  that  such  a  combi- 
nation as  this  should  have  been  taken  from  among  the 
creatures  to  mirror  forth  the  Divine  Creative  life  in 
■  glory.  At  all  events  these  animal  types  could 
not  have  been  better  chosen  to  exhibit  the  manifoldness 
and  fullness  of  creative  life. 

It  is  not  without  significance,  also,  that  these  high 
of  tin-  inferior  orders  are  so  closely  associated  by 
Ezekiel  and  John  with  man.  We  see  this  composite 
figure,  which  represents  the  highest  order  of  angelic  in- 
telligence, rising  cut  of  and  compounded,  so  to  speak,  of 
.  lion,  ox,  and  man.  What  (Iocs  this  mean  ?  Is  there 
1 1 •  •  t  here  a  startling  suggestion  of  something  very  much 

lie  theory  ol  modern  evolution?     Indeed,  I   winder 

that  some  Christian  evolutionist  has  not  made  use  of  this 

ery  to  d<  clare  an  ancient  ami  Scriptural  recognition 

of  the   development    hypothesis.     For  the   manner  in 

♦Wright — " Animal    Life,"    pi  \  Wallace — " The 

iphical   Distribution  of  Animals,     vol.  ii.  p  The 

Classification  of  Sir  Victoi  Brooks.     |  Wallaci  .  Idem,  345. 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUXD  THE  THRONE.       243 

which  this  association  may  be  sufficiently  explained 
from  another  standpoint,  I  must  refer  to  my  last  Lecture 
upon  the  covenant  made  with  Noah  for  himself  and  the 
lower  creatures.  However,  it  is  certainly  true  that  there 
are  natural  forces  and  faculties  which  man,  on  the  animal 
side  of  his  nature,  bears  in  common  with  the  noblest 
orders  of  beasts.  Strength  of  the  ox,  courage  of  the 
lion,  activity  of  the  eagle,  parental  affection  and  self-de- 
votion in  all,  are  traits  which  belong  to  our  humble 
friends  of  the  brute  creation,  and  which  have  received 
the  highest  expression  in  man. 

In  man,  did  I  say?  The  saying  can  only  be  limited 
by  the  comparatively  narrow  confines  of  this  life.  The 
living  forms  whom  we  are  considering  are  proofs  of  this. 
The  ruder  forces,  basilar  powers  of  Nature  that  have 
such  fitting  representatives  in  the  ox,  lion,  and  eagle, 
must  in  some  sense  enter  into  the  nature  of  the  cheru- 
bim themselves.  Why  not?  Broadly  speaking,  zoolog- 
ical life  may  be  compared  with  a  pyramid  at  whose  base 
lie  the  lowest  forms,  creatures  of  the  water  that  possess 
the  most  rudimentary  organs  and  simplest  functions. 
Type  on  type  of  higher  organism  rises  until  the  classifi- 
cation ends  in  man.  He  is  the  perfect  organism,  so  far 
as  human  observation  extends.  But,  confessedly,  there  is 
a  vast  interval  between  him  and  God  the  Creator.  Is 
this  interspace  vacant  of  correlated  forms  of  life?  Is 
there  nothing  living  to  bridge  the  void  between  humanity 
and  Deity  ?  Yes,  there  are  the  angels !  Science  has  not 
yet  discovered, but  Revelation  has  uncovered  them;  and 
there  is  nothing  contrary,  but  much  in  harmony  with  the 
facts  and  theories  of  science  in  the  revelation.  A  dis- 
tinguished naturalist,  whom  I  have  more  than  once 
quoted,  has  said:  "The  grand  law  of  '  continuity,'  the 
last  outcome  of  modern  science,  which  seems  absolute 
throughout  the  realm  of  matter,  force,  and  mind,  so  far 
as  we  can  explore  them,  cannot  surely  fail  to  be  true  be- 
yond the  narrow  sphere  of  our  vision,  and  leave  an  infi- 
nite chasm  between  man  and  the  Great  Mind  of  the 
Universe !  Such  a  supposition  seems  to  me  in  the  high- 
est degree  improbable."  * 

*  Wallace — "On  Natural  Selection,"  page  372. 


244  THE  G<  >SPEL  IN  X. !  TURE. 

Our  pyramid  then  may  not  and  docs  not  end  in  man. 
Man  is  simply  the  fleshly  termination  thereof.  The  edi- 
fice of  life  goes  on  through  those  mysterious  ranks  of 
being  known  to  us  as  angels,  until  it  vnd>  at  the  very 
pillars  of  the  Divine  throne  in  the  highest  grade  of  an- 
gelic being,  the  cherubim  themselves. 

N  >r  is  it  contrary  to  the  truth  to  express  this  contin- 
uity of  life  from  the  earth  side  upward  by  a  symbolism 
drawn,  first,  from  inanimate  nature,  as  the  clouds  and 
rainbow,  and  next,  from  the  highest  orders  of  animals 
and  from  man.  Moreover,  the  physical  qualities  which 
such  creatures  as  the  eagle,  ox  and  lion  personify  are 
certainly  possessed  by  those  angels  whose  life  hi 
we  read,  though  in  too  brief  glimpses,  in  the  Holy  Bible. 
Their  swiftness  of  motion,  loft}-  com-age,  strength,  su- 
preme powers  of  destruction  as  the  executors  of  judg- 
ment in  the  Divine  government, — these  and  such  like 
traits  appear  in  the  angels  of  Sacred  history.  The}-  are 
not  impalpable  impotencies — mere  ideals.  They  are 
-  ;  the}-  are  thrones,  principalities,  powers.  They 
touch  and  move  the  fountains  of  Nature.  The}-  call  fire 
from  the  rock  and  dews  from  the  air,  as  in  the  ca 
the  angel  who  appeared  to  Gideon.*  The}-  hold  in  their 
hands  the  forces  that  throb  and  glow  in  earthquake  and 
volcano,  as  in  the  case  of  th<  angels  who  procured  the 
destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. '<'  The}-  control 
the  mighty  forces  of  disease  and  death,  which  the}-  are 
commissioned  to  use,  as  in  the  judgment  ot  pestilence 
sent  upon  the  Israelites  in  the  days  of  David, T  and  the 
pestilence  which  slew  the  first-born  of  Egypt,§  and  the 
destruction  of  the  Assyrian  host,  so  vividly  described 
by  Byron.  || 

The  Assyrian  came  down  lik«-  the  wolf  '>n  tin-  fold, 
And  his  cohorts  were  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold  : 

Am!  til--  sh(  en  "f  their  s]K-ars  was  like  stais  <>n  the  Sea, 
When  the  blue  wave  rolls  nightly  on  d  lee. 

Like  ti)'-  leaves  of  the  forest  when  summer  i^  green, 
That  h'>st  with  their  banners  at  sunset  were  seen  ; 

of  resl  when  autumn  hath  bl<  iwn, 

That  host  on  tl"-  morrow  lay  wither'd  and  strewn. 


*Judgesvi.  38.    i(  [I.  Sam.  xxiv.  16.    }Ezod. 

\ii.  23.         II.  Kings  xix.  35. 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUND  THE  THRONE.       245 

For  the  Angel  of  Death  spread  his  wings  on  the  blast, 
And  breathed  in  the  face  of  the  foe  as  he  pass'd  ; 
And  the  eyes  of  the  sleepers  wax'd  deadly  and  chill, 
And  their  hearts  but  once  heaved,  and  forever  grew  still.* 

In  the  New  Testament  we  read  of  an  angel  putting  forth 
physical  exertion,  as  when  one  rolled  away  the  stone  from 
the  door  of  our  blessed  Lord's  sepulchre.  Throughout 
the  entire  book  of  Revelation  we  see  angels  move  through 
the  vision  of  the  exiled  apostle  in  numberless  missions  of 
providence  and  grace.  They  see,  they  eat,  they  speak, 
they  sing,  their  voices  are  heard  by  human  ears,  their 
touch  is  felt  upon  human  hands,  as  when  they  led  Lot 
and  his  family  forth  from  Sodom.  In  short,  they  com- 
mand material  forces  and  achieve  material  results. 
When  they  appear  their  bodies  resemble  a  human  form. 
Nor  is  there  any  indication  in  Scripture  that  these  bod- 
ies are  not  real  and  only  assumed  for  the  time  and  then 
laid  aside.  For  myself  I  believe  that  they  are  material, 
though  of  a  form  of  matter  of  which  we  as  yet  can  form 
no  true  conception,  but  which  some  day,  perhaps,  in  the 
progress  of  a  sanctified  science,  we  shall  be  able  to  un- 
derstand if  not  discern.  That  the  angels  do  not  all  pos- 
sess human  form  is  manifestly  the  opinion  of  Ezekiel 
and  John,  as  we  learn  from  their  description  of  the  Life 
Forms  by  which  the  cherubim  are  represented.  At  all 
events  their  life  history,  so  far  as  the  Bible  gives  it, 
accords  with  the  fact  which  these  cherubic  symbols 
express,  and  shows  them  united  in  sympathetic  and 
harmonious  service  of  God  with  man  and  the  inferior 
animals  and  with  all  creation. 

2.  There  is  another  significant  fact  in  the  symbolism 
of  these  cherubic  emblems  that  must  now  be  noticed  : 
they  are  embodied  in  wings.  That  is  to  say,  the  wings 
are  not  only  stretched  above  them  constituting  the  frame- 
work of  the  firmament  at  whose  four  corners  they  stand, 
but  they  cover  and,  one  might  say,  compose  the  whole 
lower  part  of  the  body.  What  is  the  significance  of 
wings  ?  Undoubtedly  they  are  a  spiritual  emblem  of  the 
highest  significance.     According  to  the  Greek  tradition, 

*  Lord  Byron—  "The  Destruction  of  Sennacherib." 


246  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

the  beautiful  human  bride  of  Cupid  who  was  at  last  en- 
dowed with  immortality,  was  conceived  in  mythology 
and  art  under  the  form  of  a  winged  maiden,  or  at  other 
times  as  a  butterfly,  which  bore  the  same  name.  The  in- 
sect, most  frequently  the  butterfly  and  moth,  breaking 
from  its  unwinged  chrysalid  state  into  the  imago  or 
winged  form,  has  been  regarded  as  symbolizing  the  same 
truth.  The  outspread  wings,  as  an  emblem  of  the  Di- 
vine protection,  are  one  of  the  most  common  Egyptian 
emblems,  appearing  continually  over  the  gates  of  tombs 
and  temples.  In  Scripture  usage  we  find  these  protect- 
ing wings  in  the  beautiful  blessing  ofvBoaz  to  Ruth,  "  A 
full  reward  be  given  thee  of  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
under  whose  wings  thou  art  come  to  take  refuge."*  The 
Almighty  speaks  of  having  borne  his  people  as  on  the 
wings  of  eagles, f  having  brought  them  out  of  Egypt  as 
an  eagle  carries  its  young  ones  143011  its  wings.  "  Hide 
me  under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings,"  is  the  cry  of  David,!  . 
in  the  hour  of  distress,  and  the  sweetness  of  this  refuge 
he  expresses  in  the  words,  "  How  precious  is  thy  loving 
kindness,  O  God !  and  the  children  of  men  take  refuge 
under  the  shadow  of  thy  wings."  § 

The  accuracy  of  observation,  the  delicate  sympathy 
with  nature  and  the  beautiful,  the  genuine  poetical  spirit 
and  taste  of  the  ancient  bards  and  inspired  prophets  have 
never  been  more  truly  illustrated  than  in  their  choice  of 
such  a  symbol  to  express  such  spiritual  truths.  There 
is  certainly  no  object  in  nature  that  challenges  higher  ad- 
miration for  wonderful  structure  than  the  wings  of  a 
bird,  and  were  there  no  other  than  that,  it  seems  to  me 
that  it  alone  would  be  enough  to  demonstrate  the  power 
and  presence  of  an  Infinite  Mind. 

Any  one  who  has  watched  the  flight  of  the  meadow 
lark  as  it  arises  from  "the  dewy  weet,"  and  sings  in  the 
upper  air  ;  or  who  has  followed  the  spiral  course  of  the 
hawk  or  eagle  rising  higher  and  higher  until  it  beats  its 
wings  against  the  very  gate  of  heaven;  or  who  has  fol- 
lowed the  strong  flight  of  sea  birds,  gull,  albatross  or 
Mother  Cary's  chickens  over  the  crests  of  tempest-driven 

*Ruthii.  12.  f  Exodus  xxi.  4;  Deut.  xxxii.  n.  \  l's.  xvii.  8. 
\  l's.  xxxvi.  7. 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUND  THE  THRONE.       247 

waves,  must  have  felt  a  strange  uplifting  of  soul,  a  long- 
ing to  share  such  perfection  of  motion,  a  yearning  to 
mount  up  on  wings  as  eagles.  I  can  remember  that  as 
one  of  the  strongest  emotions  of  my  boyhood  as  I  lay 
upon  the  grassy  hillsides,  and  watched  the  flight  of  birds. 

Often  have  I  sat  at  my  father's  door  watching  in  child- 
ish absorption  the  flight  of  martins,  swifts  and  swallows 
as  they  skimmed  the  air  for  insect  food  in  the  gathering 
shades  of  evening,  and  counting  with  eager  interest  those 
that  stayed  their  flight  to  perch  on  the  ball,  the  rod  and 
harp-shaped  weather-vane  crowning  the  village  church 
opposite  our  home.  And  often  did  I  wonder,  admire 
and  wish  that  I  too  could  fly,  like  those  weird  birds,  and 
stand  upon  the  pinnacle  of  the  church  steeple  and  fling 
myself  with  joyful  abandon  from  it,  and  skim  away  upon 
outstretched  wing  over  street  and  rooftop. 

Perhaps  there  are  few  children  who  have  not  felt  the 
same  emotion,  and  it  is  sympathy  with  such  a  spirit  that 
merges  easily  into  those  spiritual  aspirations  which  lift 
the  soul  above  the  grosser  things  of  life  to  high  and  pure 
communion  with  the  things  of  heaven.  A  bird  upon  the 
wing  is  a  physical  expression  of  the  very  poetry  of  mo- 
tion, and  is  a  perfect  symbol  of  a  soul's  aspiration  for 
the  higher  life. 

Wordsworth  in  his  address  to  a  sky-lark  thus  sweetly 
breathes  this  sentiment : — 

I  have  walked  through  wildernesses  dreary, 
And  to-day  my  heart  is  weary ; 
Had  I  now  the  wings  of  the  faery 

Up  to  thee  would  I  fly. 
There  is  madness  about  thee,  and  joy  divine 
In  that  song  of  thine. 
Lift  me,  guide  me,  high  and  high 

To  thy  banquet  place  in  the  sky.* 

The  same  poet  speaks  of  the  same  bird  as  a 

Type  of  the  wise,  who  soar  but  never  roam, 
True  to  the  kindred  points  of  Heaven  and  Home. 

Our  sacred  hymnology  has  many  traces  of  the  same 
symbolism,  some    of  our    most   familiar    hymns    being 

*  William  Wordsworth— "Address  to  a  Sky-Lark." 


248  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

quite  based   upon  them.     For   example,   we   have   Sea- 
grove's  hymn  : — 

Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings, 

Thy  better  portion  trace  ; 
Rise  from  transitory  things 

Towards  Heaven  thy  native  place. 

And  there  is  also  the  favorite  hymn  of  Isaac  Watts : — 

Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise 

Within  the  vail,  and  see 
The  Saints  above — how  great  their  joys, 

How  bright  their  glories  be. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  understand  the  significance 
of  the  wings  which  form  so  large  a  part  of  the  Living 
Forms  both  in  the  vision  of  Ezekiel  and  St.  John.  The 
nature-powers  of  intelligence,  strength,  courage,  and 
action  symbolized  by  man,  ox,  lion,  and  eagle  are  repre- 
sented as  spiritualized  by  means  of  the  wings  that  sus- 
tain, encompass,  and  rise  above  them.  The  thought  that 
comes  to  us  is  that  these  types  of  nature  are  devoted  to 
the  spiritual  service  of  God.  They  are  separated  from 
their  animal  life  and  consecrated  to  the  highest  uses. 
The  whole  symbol  beautifully  expresses  to  us  the  thought 
of.  Nature  as  purified,  spiritualized,  and  devoted  to  the 
worship  and  glory  of  the  Holy  God. 

How  much  the  world  needs  to  learn  this  lesson! 

We  are  approaching  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  a  century  that  has  been  characterized  above  all 
by  two  great  social  phenomena.  The  first  is  the  won- 
derful manifestation  of  spiritual  power  and  philanthropy. 
This  is  exhibited  in  the  revival  of  religious  work  among 
the  laity;  in  the  high  valuation  of  childhood;  in  the 
organization  of  Sabbath-schools;  in  the  founding  of 
Christian  missions ;  in  the  consecration  of  the  Church 
and  its  substance  to  the  evangelization  of  heathen  na- 
tions; in  the  introduction  of  woman's  influence  and 
efforts  as  a  potent  factor  in  the  world's  work  and  duty; 
in  the  establishment  of  those  magnificent  institutions  of 
charity  that  have  done  so  much  to  relieve  human  misery; 
in  the  advancement  of  mankind  to  a  higher  plane  of 
personal  liberty,  free  thought  and  free  government.     All 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUND  THE  THRONE. 


249 


this  is  the  result  of  the  religious  and  moral  element  of 
society,  vitalized  by  the  seven  Spirits  of  God,  filled  with 
the  restless  activity  of  the  Living  Forms  before  the 
throne,  and  animated  by  the  lofty  and  merciful  spirit 
which  breathes  through  the  beautiful  symbol  of  the 
overspanning  rainbow  above  the  throne. 

Side  by  side  with  this  great  moral  force  there  has 
moved  through  the  century  the  spirit  of  modern  science. 
Scientific  thought  has  been  possessed  with  the  restless 
activity  and  numberless  eyes  of  the  wheels  of  Ezekiel's 
vision.  Heaven  and  earth,  sea  and  air  have  been  sought 
out,  searched  into,  and  have  uncovered  their  mysteries 
as  never  before.  Mankind  has  been  continually  startled 
by  marvelous  developments  of  physical  science,  and  the 
practical  results  which  have  issued  therefrom.  There 
are  some  questions  which,  as  we  draw  near  the  close  of 
the  century,  urge  themselves  more  and  more  upon  our 
thought:  Shall  these  two  mighty  forces,  the  religious 
and  scientific,  diverge  or  unite?  shall  they  join  in  frat- 
ricidal conflict,  or  clasp  hands  in  loving  fraternity  in  the 
service  of  humanity  and  the  worship  of  God?  Are 
these  two  forces  maintaining  harmonious  development 
and  progress?  Is  not  the  scientific  outrunning  the  re- 
ligious ?  Is  not  the  material  overshadowing  the  moral  ? 
Have  we  not  had  already  too  much  science,  or  if  you 
please  so  to  put  it,  with  our  much  science  have  we  not 
had  too  little  of  that  moral  preparation  without  which 
science  cannot  be  a  blessing?  In  this  generation  we 
behold  numberless  gifts  and  endowments,  the  hard  earn- 
ings and  possessions  of  science,  go  to  societies  who  are 
often  in  whole  or  in  part  "too  low  morally  and  intellect- 
ually to  know  how  to  make  the  best  use  of  them."*  As 
a  result  we  have  seen  these  scientific  endowments  be- 
come curses  rather  than  blessings. 

Take  examples.  The  art  of  distillation  taught  by 
science  is  a  blessing  in  the  mechanical  arts  and  medicine, 
but  it  has  become  an  overshadowing  curse  through  the 
drinking  habits  of  the  day.  The  moral  nature  of  man 
is  not  able  to   control  his  own  appetite,  and  the  moral 


*  Wallace — "  Natural  Selection,"  page  330. 


250  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

tone  of  society  cannot  rise  to  the  point  of  facing  and 
suppressing  the  enormities  of  the  drink-evil.  We  are 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  humiliating  facts  that  men 
are  expending  for  intoxicating  drinks  millions  of  money 
where  they  spend  thousands  for  the  cultivation  of  their 
minds  and  the  elevation  of  their  homes.  Science  has 
given  us  rum,  and  rum  has  given  us  poverty,  pauperism, 
crime.  Science  has  uncovered  to  us  the  art  of  distilla- 
tion, and  the  art  of  distillation  has  bestowed  upon  the 
world,  along  with  a  modicum  of  blessing,  an  amount  of 
sorrow  and  wickedness  which  is  truly  incalculable.  Few 
homes  have  not  felt  the  blightings  of  this  curse.  Few- 
hearts  have  not  been  wrung  by  it  with  agony;  while  the 
home  and  the  state  have  been  burdened  with  expenses 
which  far  outweigh  all  other  ordinary  expenditures  of 
the  family  and  society. 

Yet  we  cling  to  our  drink-traffic  and  keep  our  unclean 
streets,  our  unadorned  walks,  our  cobble-stone  pave- 
ments, the  very  worst  perhaps  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  corduroy  roads  of 
pioneers'  days ;  we  cling  to  the  drink- traffic,  and  keep  our 
crowded  jails,  penitentiaries,  almshouses,  orphanages. 
We  cling  to  our  drink-traffic,  preferring  to  spend  mil- 
lions of  money  in  manufacturing  criminals,  miserables, 
paupers,  rather  than  stop  the  traffic  and  spend  our 
money  in  beautifying  our  city,  and  blessing  our  fellows. 
Yes,  we  prefer  it ! — for,  society  elects  it. 

Again,  gunpowder  and  that  more  recent  explosive, 
dynamite,  are  gifts  bestowed  by  science  upon  society, 
and  is  it  not  a  question — nay,  I  may  venture  to  say  that 
it  is  not  a  question  at  all — whether  society  is  ready  to 
receive  them?  In  our  country  we  have  spent  millions 
of  money  to  explode  gunpowder  through  death-dealing 
missiles  upon  the  red  men  of  the  West;  and  we  have 
spent  tens  of  millions  only  to  educate  and  Christianize 
them.  Glance  at  Europe!  See  marshaled  on  every 
border  vast  hosts  of  soldiers,  armed  with  weapons  of 
war,  the  highest  products  of  mechanical  science.  Hear 
the  ring  and  clatter  of  factories  and  arsenals,  directed  by 
the  highest  scientific  skill,  busied  in  preparing  yet  more 
perfect,  that  is  to  say,  yet  more  destructive   agencies 


THE  RAINBOW  AROUND  THE  THRONE.       25  I 

against  human  life,  limb  and  property.  Have  these 
gifts  of  science  been  bestowed  upon  societies  quite  pre- 
pared to  receive  them  ?  Or,  is  there  no  known  higher 
use  to  which  these  unnumbered  millions  of  gold,  and  these 
priceless  thousands  of  men,  with  all  these  high  attain- 
ments of  science  and  art  can  be  put,  than  to  devise  and 
prepare  modes  by  which  human  beings  may  destroy 
each  other? 

We  need  take  no  other  example.  It  is  a  serious  re- 
flection for  society,  while  science  continues  to  pour  her 
new  discoveries  into  our  lap>  whether  this  be  an  unal- 
loyed blessing?  Certainly,  at  least,  we  dare  affirm  that 
it  never  can  be  so  unless  morals,  religion,  purity,  truth, 
and  nobility  of  heart  and  life  keep  pace  with  scientific 
discoveries.  The  man  who  divorces  science  from  reli- 
gion is  an  enemy  of  his  kind.  I  assert  it  without  hesita- 
tion, and  on  such  grounds  as  that  which  I  have  here  dis- 
closed. The  thought  has  been  admirably  expressed  by 
a  French  lady,  Madame  Adam,  in  a  recent  English  re- 
view : — 

"  You  must  have  moral  as  well  as  material  good.  A 
government  which  aims  only  at  the  one  and  forbids  the 
other  is  a  bad  government.  The  science  which  forces 
itself,  absolute  and  unintelligible,  on  the  ignorant,  is  not 
one  whit  better  than  the  obscurantism  which  tries  to 
force  itself  on  the  enlightened.  When  science  claims  to 
be  all-sufficient,  she  makes  an  empty  pretension.  She  is 
but  one  fold  of  the  veil  of  Isis — the  fold  that  sweeps  the 
ground. 

"  It  is  the  business  of  the  man  of  science  to  observe 
the  conditions  of  matter.  It  is  the  business  of  the  priest 
and  the  moralist  to  observe  the  conditions  of  spirit. 
Each  of  them  seeks  to  utilize  a  given  force  for  the  ma- 
terial or  moral  benefit  of  man.  If  the  scientific  man  has 
sometimes  to  remind  the  priest  of  the  conditions  of 
physical  existence,  the  priest  in  his  turn  has  to  remind 
the  scientific  man  of  the  conditions  of  moral  life."  * 

Christian  women  and  men,  what  have  you  to  say 
towards  the  solution  of  this  problem  ?     What  will  you 

*  "  Paul  Bert's  Science  in  Politics,"  by  Madame  Juliette  Adam. 
Quoted  from  the  "The  Contemporary  Review,"  January,  18S7. 


2  5  2  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  RE. 

do  to  bind  into  harmony  these  two  living  forces,  reli- 
gion and  science?  What  will  you  do  to  prepare  the 
world  by  the  gift  of  religion  for  the  gifts  of  science  ? 
The  duty  is  before  us,  the  struggle  is  upon  us.  The  de- 
mands for  action,  for  prayer,  for  unceasing  supplication 
at  God's  throne,  and  quenchless  energy  in  the  propaga- 
tion of  Divine  truth,  are  everywhere  upon  the  blast,  and 
they  besiege  our  ears  with  calls  that  might  well  awaken 
the  dead.  If  our  souls  be  dead  to  the  momentous  issues 
of  this  conflict,  may  God  awaken  us  to-day!  If  the 
world  shall  fail  to  discern  this  duty,  and  shall  sleep  on, 
shall  dream  on  in  fancied  security,  leaving  an  unsancti- 
fied  science  to  join  with  unsanctified  commerce,  unsanc- 
tified  industry,  and  an  unsanctified  press  to  materialize 
mankind  and  destroy  morals  and  faith  from  the  earth — 
alas,  alas,  the  final  conflagration,  the  wreck  of  society, 
the   ruin   of  the   civilizations   of  the  past  cannot  be  far 


away 


III.  We  have  come  to  the  last  truth  in  our  lesson  : 
the  whole  Dome  of  Nature  and  Providence  is  covered 
with  the  Covenant  of  Divine  Mercy  renewed  and  per- 
fected in  Jesus  Christ. 

Let  us  catch  up  for  a  moment  the  thread  of  these  pro- 
phetic visions  of  which  we  have  been  thinking. 

Ezekiel's  first  glance  is  at  the  wrath-charged  thunder- 
storm. Thence  it  travels  upward  toward  the  lightning- 
surrounded  Living  Forms  to  the  theanthropic  Form  upon 
the  throne,  ending  in  the  overarching  rainbow  "like  the 
hanging  out  from  the  throne  of  the  Eternal  of  a  flag  of 
peace."*  John's  vision  begins  where  Ezekiel's  ends — 
with  the  rainbow  emblem  which,  however,  bends  above  an 
additional  Form,  that  of  the  atoning  Lamb  who  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne.  The  apostle's  glance  travels  down- 
ward, and  finds  instead  of  Ezekiel's  pedestal  of  thunder- 
clouds and  lightnings,  the  family  of  God  in  heaven  and 
earth,  angelic  and  saintly,  hymning  a  doxology  to  the 
Creator  of  the  universe,  and  the  Redeemer  of  all  souls. 
One  cannot  but  see  even  from  this  imperfect  analysis  oi 
the  two  visions  th.it  the  eye  of  John  has  noticed  the 

*Fairbairn's  "  Ezekiel." 


THE  RAINBO W  AROUND  THE  THRONE.       253 

changed  conditions  of  the  Church  of  God.  It  is  fixed 
upon  a  period  far  in  advance  of  the  time  of  Ezekiel.  It 
recognizes  the  vast  progress  made  in  the  history  of  re- 
demption, the  introduction  of  new  elements,  as  the 
Mediator,  and  the  joyful  hymns  of  the  reunited  children 
of  God,  a  family  made  one  in  the  Sovereignty  of  grace. 
The  old  nature-emblems  are  still  there,  the  Living 
Forms,  the  crystal  expanse  of  firmament,  the  rainbow 
overarching  the  throne.  They  carry  with  them,  too, 
much  of  their  old  meaning,  but  there  is  come  to  them  a 
new  force,  a  sweeter  and  profounder  sense. 

John's  vision  reveals  to  us  just  beneath  the  rainbow 
dome  with  its  message  of  safety  and  peace,  the  person 
of  Jesus,  "the  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain."  The  dome, 
the  summit  of  this  visional  temple  of  the  new  worship, 
is  the  rainbow.  The  base,  the  floor,  is  not  the  storm- 
charged  clouds  fearful  with  lightnings,  as  in  the  vision 
of  Ezekiel,  but  a  group  of  living,  holy,  joyous  beings, 
the  united  family  of  God,  the  family  of  heaven  and  of 
earth  engaged  in  holy  service.  The  Living  Forms  lift 
up  their  Trisagion  hymn,  "Holy!  holy!  holy!"  The 
crowned  Presbyters  raise  their  doxology,  "  Worthy  art 
thou,  O  Lord  our  God,  for  Thou  didst  create  all  things." 
Then  there  is  silence.  The  vision  undergoes  a  change. 
The  Lamb  is  seen  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  clad  with 
the  seven  spirits  of  God,  the  emblem  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Now  the  Living  Beings  and  the  crowned  Elders  strike 
their  celestial  harps  and  lead  the  choir  of  the  universe 
in  their  new  song,  while  the  heavenly  temple  is  filled 
with  the  incense  of  the  prayers  of  saints.  Hark  !  This 
is  the  song  which  they  raise  :  "  Worthy  art  thou,  for 
thou  wast  slain  and  didst  purchase  unto  God,  with  thy 
blood,  men  of  every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and 
nation,  and  madest  them  to  be  unto  our  God  a  kingdom 
and  priests;  and  they  reign  upon  the  earth."  Now  the 
innumerable  company  of  angels,  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand  and  thousands  of  thousands,  and  every  created 
thing  which  is  in  heaven  and  on  the  earth,  and  under 
the  earth,  and  on  the  sea,  and  all  things  that  are  in  them 
are  heard  raising  their  voices  in  mighty  chorus,  saying  : 
"  Unto  him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  and  unto  the  Lamb 


254  THE  GOSPEL  IX  X AfC RE. 

be  the  blessing,  and  the  honor,  and  the  glory,  and  the 
dominion  forever  and  ever!  And  the  four  Living  Crea- 
tures said  'Amen  !'"  The  song  rises  aloft  through  the 
whole  animated  Temple  of  holy  beings  and  echoes  under 
that  rainbow  dome  which  speaks  in  every  band  and  color 
concerning  the  New  Covenant  of  Mercy,  the  Covenant 
which  is  in  the  Blood  of  the  Atonement,  by  which  the 
world  of  believers  is  forever  saved  from  the  deluge  of 
Divine  wrath.  The  Rainbow  marked  that  bright  day 
when  the  Covenant  of  Peace  dawned  upon  a  destroyed 
world.  The  Rainbow  shall  crown  that  Blessed  Day 
when  in  the  full  fruition  of  the  Covenant  the  whole  Ran- 
somed Church  shall  join  with  Creation  in  the  jubilee  of 
finished  Redemption. 

Could  anything  more  forcibly  and  clearly  present  to 
us,  in  symbolism  at  least,  the  truth  that  in  the  ideal  cre- 
ation, all  things,  visible  and  invisible,  shall  join  in  har- 
monious praise  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ  the  1 
To-day  we  seem  to  be  far  away  from  that  blessed  con- 
summation. To-day,  as  the  Apostle  Paul  has  declared,* 
"  we  know  that  the  whole  creation  groaneth  and  travail- 
eth  in  pain  together  until  now."  "  For  the  creation  was 
subjected  to  vanity,  not  of  its  own  will,  but  by  reason  of 
him  who  subjected  it."  But  on  the  same  page  that  de- 
clares this  manifest  truth  we  have  the  sweet  utterance 
of  the  "hope  that  the  creation  itself  also  shall  be  deliv- 
ered from  the  bondage  of  corruption  unto  the  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God.  For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the 
creation  waiteth  for  the  revealing  of  the  sons  of  God.f 

When  shall  that  glad  day  come  ?  When  shall  all  the 
forces  of  nature,  ami  all  the  discoveries  of  science,  and 
all  the  faculties  of  the  human  mind  together  bow  in 
humble  worship  before  Christ  and  render  praise  for  final 
redemption?  Shall  that  day  ever  come?  Surely  it 
shall  come!  May  God  grant  that  we,  each  one  in  his 
place,  may  do  our  best  to  further  its  coming  !  Thus  we 
may  be  sharers  in  the  final  glory  and  blessedness  of  that 
service  of  universal  worship  which  forever  shall  ascend 
in  the  temple  of  the  Highest  beneath  the  rainbow  dome 
that  covers  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 

*  Rom.  viii.  22.     f  Rom.  viii.  19. 


LECTURE  XIV 


The  Angel  and  the  Rainbow. 

"And  I  saw  another  strong  angel  coming  dozen  oaf  of 
heaven,  arrayed  with  a  cloud ;  and  the  rainbow  was  upon 
his  head,  and  his  face  zvas  as  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pil- 
lars of  fire,  and  he  had  in  his  hand  a  little  book  open.''  — 
Revelation  x.  1-2. 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  RAINBOW 


The  tenth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Revelation  contains 
material  upon  whose  explanation  I  do  not  even  venture. 
It  will  satisfy  the  requirements  of  this  lecture  if  we  con- 
sider the  holy  being  described  in  our  text  as  an  angelic 
minister  in  a  divine  livery,  that  is,  presented  in  the 
natural  symbols  which  represent  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
sent  forth  with  the  Gospel.  He  appears  clothed  with  a 
cloud,  an  emblem  in  the  Scriptures  of  something  ex- 
alted, heavenly,  spiritual,  mysterious,  and  therefore 
Divine.  His  face  is  as  the  sun,  a  symbol  of  majesty  and 
Divine  truth.  His  feet  are  as  pillars  of  fire,  emblems  of 
that  purity  with  which  the  Holy  Church  and  all  holy 
ministries  should  touch  the  earth  and  move  among  men. 

"And  the  rainbow  was  upon  his  head."  Undoubtedly 
we  must  regard  this  head-dress  as  the  coronet  or  crown 
of  the  angel.  The  rainbow  is  his  diadem,  and  the  lesson 
which  the  symbol  teaches  is,  manifestly,  that  the  angelic 
ministries  are.crowned  with  mercy  to  men.  That  cove- 
nant of  Divine  compassion  and  preservation,  by  which 
mankind  is  inspired  with  eternal  hope,  is  surely  the  very 
crown  of  the  Revelation  of  God  ;  its  symbol  is  therefore 
worthy  the  loftiest  angel  to  wear,  worthy  the  noblest 
spirit  of  earth  to  accept,  for  it  expresses  the  sublimest 
attribute  of  God  Himself. 

In  paintings  and  sculptures  upon  the  tombs  and  tem- 
ples of  Egypt  royal  personages  are  depicted  by  artists 
as  crowned  with  the  uraeus,  a  poisonous  serpent. 
Egyptologists  have  thought  this  to  be  an  emblem  of 
the  swiftness  and  deadliness  of  royal  power.  Thus  the 
Pharaohs  hedged  themselves  about  with  terror.  How 
sharp  the  contrast  between  these  ancient  kings  of  earth 
and  our  heavenly  King  Jesus !  He  is,  indeed,  Divine, 
Omnipotent,  All-glorious,   but   he  crowns   his   majesty 

(257) 


2  5  8  THE  Gt  >SPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

with  compassion  towards  the  lowly,  the  ignorant  and 
them  that  are  out  of  the  way. 

These  characteristics  belong  to  all  who  arc  appointed 
by  God  angels  or  messengers  of  good  will  towards  men. 
We  may  give  to  this  figure  the  widest  interpretation. 
We  see  here  something  more  than  the  ministry  of  holy 
angels  continually  exercised  for  God  among  saints  ; 
mine  than  a  type  of  that  sacred  ministry  by  which  in 
succession  of  the  ages  the  hoi)'  Evangel  is  disseminated 
whether  by  word  of  mouth  or  written  scroll.  We  see 
here  a  type  of  all  agents  and  instruments  whatsoever 
that  stand  forth  in  the  eye  of  heaven  as  messengers  of 
truth  ;  a  type  of  even-thing  that  is  or  shall  be  a  lawful 
carrier  to  men  of  messages  of  light  and  help  from  any 
quarter  of  Heaven  or  any  point  of  God's  universe. 

In  this  view  of  St.  John's  vision,  the  strong  angel 
crowned  with  the  rainbow,  who  is  seen  speeding  with 
fiery  feet  through  the  heavens  bearing  a  written  roll  or 
book,  typifies  not  only  a  Christian  Church  and  ministry, 
but  Christian  Art,  Science,  and  Literature.  All  these 
have  been  and  ought  to  be  angelic  messengers  bearing 
an  evangel  of  holiness  and  good  will.  Alas!  the)'  have 
not  always  been  such.  Such  they  are  now  only  in  part. 
The  good  has  ever  been  perverted  by  evil.  The  livery 
of  heaven  has  always  been  seized  to  clothe  Satan  there- 
with ;  the  very  angels  of  light  have  been  dragged  down 
to  become  messengers  of  darkness  and  corruption,  so 
that  over  Art,  Science  and  Literature,  sacred  and  secu- 
lar, aye,  over  the  pulpit  itself,  the  holy  angels  of  God 
have  been  compelled  to  lift  up  the  sad  wail,  "  How  art 
thou  fallen  from  heaven,  Star  of  day,  son  of  the  morn- 
ing!" *  It  is  from  this  broad  interpretation  of  the  mis- 
sion of  tin-  angel  and  the  rainbow  that  our  discourse 
shall  proceed. 

I.  Our  first  and  principal  lesson  therefore  is  that  the 
Purity,  Majesty,  and  Strength  of  God  as  presented  in 
the  Gospel  and  represented  by  all  Angelic  Ministries,  are 
dominated  by  Divine  Mercy. 

*  Isa.  xiv.  i2. 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  RAINBOW. 


J59 


The  messenger  of  heaven  is  crowned  with  the  rain- 
bow.    The  fitness  of  this  natural  symbol  as  a  token  of 
heavenly  mercy  and  human  hope   has   been  universally 
recognized.     It  stands  almost  alone  among  atmospheric 
phenomena  as   wholly  separated    from  the    thought   of 
discomfort  and  pain,  loss  and  death  to  the  human   race. 
Nature,  for  the  most  part,  like  the  Roman  god  Janus,  is 
two-faced.     When  gazing  upon  one  face  we  see  radiant 
smiles ;  looking  upon  the  other  we  behold  frowns.    From 
the  one  face  go  forth  utterances  of  gladness  and  benefi- 
cence, from  the  other  voices  of  terror  and  destruction. 
To-day  we   gaze   upon   the  clouds   with   admiration   of 
their  beauty  and  gratitude  for  their  fruitful  showers  ;  to- 
morrow they  gather  in  black  masses  that  utter  terrifying 
thunders  and  flash  forth  lightings  to  destroy.    The  rains 
and  rivers  bring  us  blessings,  but  their  floods  at  times 
blight  as  with  a  curse.     The  winds  are   our  helpful  ser- 
vants, but  they  beat  us  with  the  terrible   tornado  and 
desolating  storm.     The  snows  greet  us  with  many  forms 
of    beauty   and    beneficence,    but    they    carry    in    their 
bosoms  the  elements  of  death.     Even  the  sunlight,  har- 
binger   of  love,    the    source    of  unnumbered    blessings, 
beats  upon  the  world  in  the  fierceness  of  a  tropical  sum- 
mer, smiting  men  by  day.     But  the  rainbow  is  a  creature 
of  simple  beauty.     It  is  lovely  without  a  trace  or  sug- 
gestion or  possibility   of   harm.     It   is   seen   when   the 
storm  is  sinking  out  of  one  horizon  while  the  sun  ap- 
pears in  another.     It  is  the  emblem  of  storms  that  have 
passed.      It  speaks   of  hope;     it   charms   by   its  Varied 
colors  and  stirs  within  the  heart  no  sentiment  but  admi- 
ration, gratitude  and  praise. 

This  has  been  the  universal  sentiment  of  the  race. 
"  Look  upon  the  rainbow,"  says  the  son  of  Sirach  in  the 
Apocrypha,  "  and  praise  Him  that  made  it.  Very  beau- 
tiful it  is  in  the  brightness  thereof.  It  compasseth  the 
heaven  about  with  a  glorious  circle,  and  the  hands  of 
the  Most  High  have  bended  it."*  The  ancient  Greeks 
and  Romans  regarded  it  in  the  same  light.  Iris  was 
the  goddess    of  the   rainbow,  and    was  represented  as 

*  Ecclesiasticus  xliii.  n-12. 


2<5o  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

the  daughter  of  Thaumas,  Wonder,  and  Electra,  Light- 
ning, and  the  granddaughter  of  Ocean  and  Earth. 
She  was  the  messenger  of  Jupiter,  king  of  the  gods, 
and  of  Juno  his  queen.  She  lived  among  the  other 
deities  of  Olympus,  which  she  only  left  for  the  purpose 
of  conveying  divine  commands  to  mankind,  by  whom 
she  was  looked  upon  as  a  guide  and  adviser.  She  trav- 
eled with  the  speed  of  the  wind,  always  from  one  end  of 
the  world  to  the  other,  could  penetrate  to  the  bottom  of 
the  sea  or  even  to  the  Styx,  the  place  of  the  dead.  It 
was  her  office  to  charge  the  clouds  with  water  from 
lakes  and  rivers,  in  order  that  they  might  go  forth  in 
gentle  fertilizing  showers.  She  was  represented  as  a 
beautiful  virgin  with  wings  of  varied  hues,  clad  in  robes 
of  bright  colors  and  riding  on  a  rainbow;  at  other 
times  with  a  nimbus  on  her  head  on  which  the  colors 
of  the  rainbow  were  reflected.* 

Homer  thus  alludes  to  this  goddess  in  the  course  of 
his  description  of  the  armor  of  Agamemnon  in  which 
"  the  king  of  men"  arrays  himself  for  battle: — 

"Three  glittering  dragons  to  the  gorget  rise, 
Whose  imitated  scales  against  the  skies 
Reflected  various  light,  and  arching  bowed, 
Like  colon-d  rainbows  o'er  a  showery  cloud 
(Jo\  e's  w<  mdrous  bow,  of  three  celestial  dies, 
Placed  as  a  sign  to  men  amidst  the  skies)."  f 

In  the  same  Book  Homer  represents  Iris  as  the  mes- 
senger of  Jove,  exercising  her  office  at  the  close  of  a 
thunder-storm  in  bearing  a  divine  command  to  Hector 
in  the  midst  of  the  battle  between  the  Grecian  and 
Tn>jan  troops. 

"  Bui  fove  descending  shook  the  Idsean  hills, 
Anddown  their  summits  poured  a  hundred  rills; 
The  unkindled  lighting  in  his  hand  he  took, 
And  thus  the  many-colored  maid  bespoke: 
'  Iris,  with  haste  thy  golden  wings  display, 
To  godlike  1  lector  tins  our  word  convey.1  " 

By  the  I  Irermans  the  rainbow  is  called  Bi  frost,  the  Liv- 
ing way;  and  Asen-briicke,  the  Bridge  of  Asen.J     The 

Mi  rray:  -"Manual of  Mythology," page  162.   f  "Tin.-  Iliad," 
Book  xi.,  Pope's  translation.    J  Delitzsch. 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  RAINBOW.  26 1 

ancient  Hebrews  looked  upon  it  as  a  great  band,  joinino- 
heaven  and  earth,  and  binding  them  both  together,  as 
the  Greek  ip«;  comes  from  ecpcv,  to  tie  or  bind.*  They 
made  it,  therefore,  the  sign  of  a  covenant,  or  of  a  relation 
of  peace  between  God  in  Heaven  and  the  creature 
upon  the  earth.  It  carried  to  their  minds  a  thought 
similar  to  that  of  the  heavenly  stairway  or  ladder^of 
Jacob's  dream,  which  united  the  throne  of  God  to  the 
stone  pillow  upon  which  the  sleeping  exile  rested  his 
bead.  It  is  thus  that  we  are  led  up  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  rainbow  diadem  of  this  angel  messenger  teaches 
us  that  all  true  angelic  ministries  to  men  are  dominated 
by  the  Divine  Mercy. 

1.  We  see   this   first  and   especially   in  the  Personal 
Ministry  of  Christ. 

The  crowning  attribute  of  God  is  compassion.  The 
New  Testament,  indeed  I  might  say  the  whole  Scripture, 
is  the  presentation  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour.  His 
incarnation,  the  germinal  principles  of  his  religious 
teachings,  and  his  holy  sacrifice  for  man,  are  presented 
in  the  four  Gospels.  The  subsequent  sacred  books  re- 
cord the  founding  of  the  primitive  Church,  and  the  de- 
velopment and  application  of  the  principles  which  Christ 
taught  by  the  apostles  whom  he  commissioned.  Every- 
where the  central  truth  is  the  manifestation  of  Divine 
love  in  the  life  and  death  of  Christ.  "  God  commendeth 
his  love  toward  us,"  exclaims  St.  Paul,  "in  that,  while 
we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us."f  "  Herein  is 
love,"  writes  St.  John,  "  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that 
he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins."J  This  is  in  entire  harmony  with  what  our 
Saviour  Himself  taught:  "God  so  loved  the  world  that 
He  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."§ 

This  glory  of  Christ  is  associated  with  his  human  life 
and  office.  In  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  all  other  reve- 
lation is  corrected,  completed,  crowned,  and  man  beholds 

•    *  Kxo/\EV     §.ee  Lange,  Gen.  ix.  in  loc.    f  Rom.  v.  S.    t  I    John 
iv.  10.     £  John  111.  16.  J 


262  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NATURE. 

the  Almighty  not  simply  as  a  Force,  but  as  a  Father. 
Christ  shines  in  the  light  of  heavenly  mere}-,  for  he  in- 
terprets mercy  unto  men.  He  displays  to  the  world  the 
thought  of  a  Pardoning  God.  The  eternal  Throne  is 
illumined  by  that  conception.  It  fills  all  heaven  with 
radiance.  It  lights  up  the  coldest  chamber  of  earth. 
Yes,  Christ  shines  in  bodily  presence  before  us  the  radi- 
ating source  and  centre  of  man's  noblest  conception  of 
the  Deity.  He  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  He  bridged 
the  gulf  between  Jehovah's  throne  and  footstool  with  his 
own  sinless  humanity,- and  over  the  bridge  man  passed 
as  never  before,  and,  beholding  the  Father,  exclaimed, 
"  I  have  seen  God  face  toface,and  have  been  preserved  !  " 

I. do  not  say  that  this  was  a  discovery,  but  it  certainly 
was  a  rediscovery.  The  Jews  had  the  truth  of  the  Fath- 
erhood of  God,  but  the}'  had  retired  it  from  popular 
view.  They  were  interpreting  the  Good  Father  to  the 
people  of  Christ's  day  as  a  task-master;  an  "austere 
man,"  reaping  where  he  did  not  sow.*  Thus  they  had 
driven  men  to  doubt  and  impiety,  to  bury  their  talents 
in  the  earth,  and  defy  the  coming  judgment.  Jesus 
restored  the  old  view  of  God  as  a  Patriarchal  Judge. 
He  stood  amid  the  splendors  of  the  earthly  sanctuary 
and  called  God,  "  Abba,  Father !  "  Since  the  days  of 
the  Shekinah  the  Jewish  Temple  on  Mount  Moriah 
never  knew  a  brighter  effulgence. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  ideas  n\  God  had  fallen  into  a 
deeper  gulf  of  theological  error  than  the  Jewish.  It  has 
been  remarked  that  in  the  Homeric  representations  of 
divinity  and  humanity,  what  most  strikes  us  is  that 
whereas  the  human  characters  are  in  their  measure  win- 
ning, attractive  and  heroic,  the  divine  characters  are 
capricious,  cruel,  revengeful,  sensuous.f  The  revel 
of  God  in  Christ  to  such  minds  was  something  more 
than  a  revelation.  It  was  a  revolution  !  1  low  profound 
a  revolution  it  is  impossible  for  us  of  this  day  and  gene- 
ration to  conceive.  It  is  the  glory  of  Christ  among 
men  that  as  the  Son  of  Man  he  held  forth  both  the  holi- 
and  the   Love  of  the  divine   Father.     In   Christ's 


!  six.  21.  rANLET — "  Christian  Institutions," 

page 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  RAINBOW.  263 

human  life  that  glory  was,  indeed,  veiled  within  a  cloud 
as  he  moved  among  men,  but  still  it  appeared.  Its  rays 
were  continually  breaking  through  in  the  miracles  of 
healing  and  divine  benevolence  that  he  wrought,  symbols 
and  foretokens  of  that  blessedness  which  his  fuller  civili- 
zation has  brought  to  the  sons  of  earth.  We  see  him 
walking  on  the  sea,  manifesting  thus  his  power  not  only, 
but  symbolizing  the  truth  that  in  coming  days  the  spirit 
of  his  civilization  should  triumph  over  nature,  bridge 
the  seas  with  ten  thousand  hulls,  flash  human  thought 
underneath  the  ocean's  waves,  and,  seizing  everywhere 
nature's  mightiest  forces,  bring  them  in  subjection  to  the 
loft}-  thought  of  divinely-cultured  mind.  We  see  him 
raising  the  dead,  manifesting  thus  his  power,  indeed, 
but  setting  forth  also  a  symbol  of  the  truth  that  life 
should  be  made  more  sacred,  and  unnumbered  multi- 
tudes saved  from  the  grave  by  the  spirit  of  that  divine 
Charity  which  he  would  engraft  upon  learning  and 
science. 

Through  all  these  scenes  of  his  earth  life  he  was  as 
the  sun  moving  amid  the  clouds  of  morning  which  his 
rays  had  not  yet  scattered.  He  waited  thus  for  the 
crowning  act  of  his  offering  upon  Calvary,  the  culminat- 
ing commendation  of  God's  love. 

2,  We  are  taught  the  same  lesson  concerning  those 
kindred  ministries  to  men — Science,  Art  and  Literature. 
We  confine  our  thoughts  to  Literature,  which  is  well 
symbolized  by  "the  little  book"  that  the  angel  bore  in 
his  hand.  The  symbol  is  very  apt  as  representing  the 
modern  magazine,  and  especially  the  daily  journal,  which 
is  often  a  veritable  fitftXapidiov  (biblaridion)  or  booklet, 
both  as  to  the  amount  and  value  of  its  contents.  That 
is  indeed  a  mighty  messenger,  whose  force  can  hardly  be 
measured  by  even  angelic  mensuration,  which  comes  to 
the  world  on  the  wings  of  the  printing  press.  Do  I  see 
aright  when  I  behold  its  type  in  this  angelic  ministry? 
Do  I  take  too  lofty  an  ideal  when  I  declare  that  the 
function  of  the  press  is  to  sweep  the  world  as  with  puri- 
fying fires,  under  the  high  coronation  of  goodness  and 
truth  ? 


264  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  rRE. 

There  is  no  subject  that  will  better  repay  earnest  con- 
sideration and  discussion  than  the  ethics  of  journalism. 
The  functions,  privileges  and  responsibilites  of  the  daily 
press  in  particular  need  to  be  defined.  The  definition  is 
somewhat  complicated  with  other  questions  of  great 
importance  to  society,  as  for  example  the  "liberty  of  the 
press;"  but  the  common  welfare  is  deeply  involved  in 
right  conclusions  upon  these  points.  The  opinion  which 
seems  to  prevail,  among  newspaper  proprietors  at  least, 
is  that  the  daily  journal  is  a  commercial  enterprise 
solely,  and  is  only  amenable  to  the  laws,  responsive  to 
the  influences,  and  subservient  to  the  conditions  con- 
trolling all  other  business.  Its  chief  function  is  held  to 
be  reportorial;  that  is,  to  communicate  to  its  purchasers 
the  events  transpiring  in  the  world,  particularly  in  the 
community  forming  its  immediate  constituency. 

The  ideal  newspaper,  according  to  this  standard,  is 
simply  a  purveyor  of  news,  good  and  bad  alike.  It  re- 
flects, as  from  a  mirror,  upon  the  public  at  large  those 
incidents  which  occur  in  detail  throughout  the  various 
parts  of  society.  It  turns  a  many-faced  camera  upon 
the  events  of  daily  life,  and  catching  them  upon  the 
sitized  plates  of  a  reporter's  brain,  reproduces  the  united 
impressions  and  places  them  in  the  market  at  a  fixed 
price.  It  claims  that  what  the  public  wants  is  "news,'' 
and  that  its  own  responsibility  is  ended  when  the  public 
is  furnished  with  what  it  desires.  Further  than  that  it  has 
sponsibility  at  all,  except  to  see  to  it,  as  any  shrewd 
businessman  would  do,  that  its  operations  are  conducted 
upon  careful  and  honest  commercial  principles,  and  are 
made  successfully.  Whatever  may  be  said  ^\  this  ideal, 
it  must  1)'-  admitted  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  our  leading  journals  arc  apparently  conducted 
upon  these  theories.      Lei  us  briefly  examine  them. 

In  the  first  place,  let  me  say  that  no  man,  or  men,  who 
claim  to  speak  to  or  tor  the  people,  can  put  themselves 
upon  the  basis  of  simple  private  enterprise.  It  is  not  in 
human  nature  to  permit  this ;  it  is  not  in  the  constitution 
of  society;  it  is  not  in  the  purpose  of  God.  The  instincts 
<>!  communities,  their  intuitive  perception  of  what  is  right 
and  safe,  cry  out  against  such  a  position.     Every  pastor 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  RAINBOW.  265 

of  a  church  in  this  city  might  set  up  for  himself  and  his 
people  the  plea :  "  We  are  simply  an  assemblage  of  pri- 
vate individuals,  bound  together  by  common  consent,  to 
worship  God  according  to  our  consciences,  and  procure 
for  ourselves  and  families  the  instructions  of  a  qualified 
teacher  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  who  will  also  exercise 
among  us  other  sacred  and  comforting  functions  of  the 
gospel  ministry.  The  State  pays  us  nothing,  and  it  has 
absolutely  no  concern  with  us  and  our  pastor  as  long  as 
we  conform  to  law.  We  attend  to  our  own  business; 
what  have  we  to  do  with  the  public,  or  the  public  with 
us?" 

But  society  would  decry  such  an  utterance,  and  though 
the  claim  seems  to  have  the  color  of  justice,  society 
would  be  right  in  decrying  it.  Even  in  this  land,  where 
there  is  no  established  religion,  the  pulpit  is  under  the 
most  solemn  restraints,  and  has  high  obligations  and  re- 
sponsibilities to  the  public  at  large,  which  no  wise  and 
good  man  for  a  moment  would  deny.  The  very  position 
of  the  minister,  even  though  he  be  the  private  pastor  of 
an  individual  and  private  church,  is  such  that  community 
will  always  demand  from  him  a  measure  of  responsibility 
and  a  standard  of  private  behavior  and  public  action, 
which  it  could  not  ask  from  others.  If  you  say  this  is 
unjust,  I  must  answer  that  the  instincts  of  society  are 
usually  just  and  right,  and  in  this  case  we  must  declare 
that  the  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice  of  God. 

A  similar  standard  obtains  in  the  case  of  the  public 
orator,  the  lecturer  upon  the  rostrum  and  platform ;  in- 
deed, of  all  who  stand  before  their  fellows  to  voice  senti- 
ments that  may  mould  men  and  control  the  thinking, 
the  conscience,  the  behavior  of  the  masses.  Now,  there 
are  few  agencies  that  speak  to  men  in  these  days  in  such 
numbers  and  with  such  potent  influence  as  public  jour- 
nals. Can  they  escape  from  that  responsibility  which 
rests  upon  others  in  like  positions?  They  cannot!  They 
ought  not  to  ask  for,  they  ought  not  to  be  permitted 
such  deliverance!  The  public  says,  and  rightly  says, 
and  should  continue  to  say,  "  Will  ye  or  nill  ye,  ye  must 
pass  under  the  high  and  solemn  responsibility  of  those 
who  set  themselves,  or  who  are  set  by  others  in  the 


266  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  rRE. 

place  of  prophets  and  guides  of  the  people.  At  the 
peril  of  your  souls,  at  the  peril  of  the- judgment  of  His- 
tory, and  the  High  Assize  of  Eternity,  ye  must  exercise 
that  prophetic  calling!  Woe  unto  you  if  ye  be  false 
prophets  !  Woe  unto  you  if  ye  be  blind  guides  !  "  This 
then  is  our  first  principle — no  individual.no  organ.no 
association  which  is  essentially  a  creator  and  director  of 
public  opinions  and  morals  can  be  safely  regarded  and 
treated  as  a  simple  commercial  agent,  for  these  functions 
are  in  the  nature  of  a  public  trust. 

Undoubtedly  the  newspaper  has  its  commercial  side, 
as  every  agency  of  good  must  have.  It  is  a  law  of  lit- 
erature as  of  the  gospel  that  they  who  are  its  voices  to 
men  must  live  thereby  ;  but  there  is  a  vast  difference  be- 
tween living  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  preach- 
ing the  gospel  simply  for  a  living.  I  mark  the  same 
difference  in  the  moral  attitude  of  every  man  who  is  a 
voice  to  or  for  the  people.  He  is  to  be  honored  who 
lives  by  literature,  but  he  is  unworthy  of  his  high  voca- 
tion who  pursues  literature  under  whatever  form  simply 
for  the  gain  thereof.  I  do  not,  I  cannot  believe  that  the 
great  army  of  gifted  men  and  women  whose  vigorous 
and  incisive  intellects  are  devoted  wholly  or  in  part  to 
journalism  are  the  authors  of,  or  can  rest  easy  under 
such  a  bare  commercial  theory  of  the  functions  and 
sphere  of  the  press.  Surely,  it  is  the  echo  of  the  count- 
ing-room, not  of  the  editorial  chair!  It  is  not  "the  sil- 
ver tongue,"  but  the  silver  dollar  that  speaks  thus.  Alas 
that  money  should  ever  have  power  not  simply  to  re- 
compense, but  to  command  intellect ! 

There  is  no  more  pitiful  figure  in  history  than  that  of 
Balaam,  the  mysterious  prophet  out  of  the  East,  as  he 
stood  above  the  hosts  of  God  in  that  memorable  soul- 
struggle  which  Scripture  records.*  The  bribe  of  honor 
and  wealth  Mas  at  his  hand  if  he  would  utter  a  curse 
instead  of  a  blessing  upon  Israel.  The  noble  element 
within  him,  the  divine,  the  true,  struggled  for  victory. 
His  judgment,  his  conscience,  his  feelings  were  all  with 
the  tented  army  of  the  true  God  whose  faces  were  to- 
ward the  gates  of  Canaan.     "  How  goodly  are  thy  tents, 

*  Num.  xxii.-xxiv. 


THE  ANGEL  AND,  THE  RAINBOW.  267 

O  Israel!"  involuntarily  he  exclaimed.  But  Mammon, 
self-love,  "  the  rewards  of  divination  "  struggled  vigor- 
ously on  the  other  part.  Alas  !  the  victory  was  not  with 
noble  spirit,  lofty  intellect,  commanding  genius,  high 
attainments.  There  on  those  mountain  heights  these 
gifts  of  God  struggled  in  vain  with  the  spirit  of  evil  and 
ignominy. 

That  old  conflict  is  renewed  in  the  bosom  of  many  a 
gifted  man  to-day.  Could  my  words  reach  those  bright, 
vigorous  and  most  promising  intellects  who  supply  the 
brain-force  of  journalism,  I  would  say  to  them:  The 
price  of  divination  is  indeed  great.  But  no  earthly  guer- 
don is  as  worthy  as  the  gift  itself  which  you  possess. 
This  endowment  of  God  to  speak  with  words  of  power, 
vocal  or  printed  ;  to  thrill  the  soul ;  to  awaken  emotion  ; 
to  excite  thought;  to  arouse  lethargy  ;  invigorate  weak- 
ness; guide  ignorance;  mould  character;  inspire  con- 
duct; shape  destiny — this  is  the  endowment  of  the  true 
seer,  the  vates,  the  diviner.  This  power  is  yours.  Do 
not  sell  it  for  paltry  gold !  Keep  it  pure,  true  to  God,  re- 
ligion and  humanity.  Though  the  counting-room  should 
say  "  Stand  and  deliver ;"  though  the  whole  world  should 
cry  "  Stand  and  deliver,"  do  you  refuse  to  deliver  this  gift 
of  heaven  to  befoulment  by  a  policy  that  would  put  the 
sacred  gift  of  divination  upon  the  market,  to  be  sold  in 
the  shop  and  huckstered  and  cried  on  the  street  on  a 
level  with  the  wares  of  the  fakir.  Do  not  mistake  me; 
it  is  not  the  selling  of  the  journal  that  is  ignoble  but  the 
selling  of  the  man  who  makes  the  journal,  the  selling  of 
the  principles  that  make  the  man ! 

The  second  principle  which  I  advance  is  that  there 
are  limits  to  the  right  of  people  to  know  and  of  the  press 
to  communicate  knowledge. 

The  messengers  and  ministries  that  bear  the  written 
book  and  printed  page  must  be  dominated  and  circum- 
scribed by  goodness,  truth  and  holiness.  Indeed,  on 
what  principle  of  natural  right  and  justice  can  one  de- 
clare that  he  has  claim  to  all  knowledge — any  more 
than  to  all  land?  Such  an  idea  is  communistic,  and 
there  is  a  communism  of  knowledge  which  carries  a 
grave  error  and  a  serious  peril. 


268  THE  GOSPER  IN  NATURE. 

There  is  knowledge  which  is  not  power,  but  rather 
weakness.  There  are  facts  that  corrupt  and  enervate 
the  mind.  There  are  things  that  men  are  better  far 
for  not  knowing.  The  night-life  of  a  great  city;  the 
transactions  of  our  slums  and  centres  of  moral  impur- 
ity ;  the  life  which  is  lived  by  human  creatures  down 
in  the  muddy  sediment  of  this  great  stream  of  human- 
ity— surely  these  have  no  claim  to  be  known  by  the 
masses  of  humanity.  I  raise  the  contention  that  they 
are  not  subjects  for  the  ordinary  legitimate  enterprise  of 
journalism.  Enough  that  they  must  be  known  by  those 
whose  office  it  is  to  suppress  the  powers  and  purify  the 
centres  of  corruption.  Knowledge,  illicit  knowledge  was 
the  destruction  of  our  first  parents.  It  dragged  them 
down  from  their  exalted  estate,  and  sent  them  forth  from 
Eden  banished  and  fallen.  No  Scripture  could  possibly 
be  more  appropriate  here  than  St.  Paul's  command  to 
the  Romans :  "  But  I  would  have  you  wise  unto  that 
which  is  good,  and  simple  unto  that  which  is  evil."* 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  to-day,  in  the  perverted  taste  for 
information  that  had  better  be  locked  up  within  the  secret 
records  of  police  courts,  society  shall  once  more  be  ban- 
ished from  its  Eden  .of  purity,  and  wander  shame-faced 
and  fallen  throughout  the  earth.  If  that  sad  day  comes, 
it  will  come  largely  under  the  leadership  of  a  public 
journalism  which  has  espoused  the  false  ideal  against 
which  I  have  animadverted,  and  degraded  itself  to  sell 
illicit  news  and  popular  opinions  at  a  cent  or  two  cents  a 
copy. 

There  are  indeed  times  when  the  suppression  of  abuses 
and  correction  of  hidden  evils  require  that  the  worst  fea- 
tures of  society  should  be  exposed  to  the  public  gaze. 
And  there  are  newspapers  who  with  noble  fearlessness 
and  wise  discretion  make  themselves  the  worthy  pioneers 
in  disclosing  these  secret  vices,  and  advocating  their  cor- 
rection and  the  punishment  of  offenders. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  fix  the  limits  within 
which  either  the  pulpit,  the  platform  or  the  press  should 
confine  such  revelations  of  criminal  life.  But  that  there 
is  a  limit,  cannot  be  doubted.     Certain  I    am  at  least 

*  Rom.  xvi.  19. 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  RAINBOW.  269 

that  to  print  such  disclosures  simply  for  the  sake  of  the 
sensation  produced  and  the  gain  harvested  thereby,  is  as 
unworthy  in  the  press  as  it  would  be  in  the  pulpit.  To 
do  it  as  a  part  of  the  bounden  duty  and  lawful  work  of 
one  who  is  called  to  prophesy  in  behalf  of  good  and 
against  all  evil,  is  as  praiseworthy  in  the  press  as  in  the 
pulpit. 

There  is  a  theory  of  journalism  which  asserts  that  the 
purpose  of  the  press  in  its  revelations  of  all  wickedness 
is  to  convict  the  community  of  sin  and  awaken  it  to 
righteousness.  This,  at  least,  throws  over  the  revelations 
the  mantle  of  a  worthy  motive  and  mission.  Even  thus, 
we  must  declare  that  it  is  perilous  in  the  highest  degree 
to  break  down  barriers  and  guards,  and  allow  all  manner 
of  public  prints  to  glean  with  unsparing  hand  from  the 
criminal  life  of  a  vast  city,  and  spread  the  gleanings  with 
unfettered  license  before  the  eyes  of  young  and  old,  ex- 
perienced and  inexperienced,  pure  and  impure  alike. 
There  is  no  power  in  the  simple  revelation  of  sin,  in  the 
disclosure  of  wicked  deeds,  to  turn  souls  to  righteous- 
ness. If  that  were  so,  the  "  Police  Gazette "  might 
become  a  very  gospel — more  powerful  for  good  than 
any  pulpit.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  usually  the  case  that 
familiarity  with  vice  hardens  the  conscience,  breaks 
down  sensitiveness  of  the  nature  against  evil,  thus  pre- 
paring a  way  for  it.  Only  those  who  have  within  them- 
selves the  living  principle  of  a  holy  life,  whose  charac- 
ters are  strong,  who  are  braced  and  bolted  down  to  the 
ways  of  virtue,  who  are  proof  against  assault,  can  with- 
out contamination  come  in  daily  contact  with  the  ways 
and  words,  thoughts,  sentiments,  and  policies  of  the 
unclean. 

Revelations  of  sin  never  should  stand  alone.  They  are 
never  influential  for  good  when  so  standing.  There  is 
no  impulsive  power  towards  righteousness  within  them ; 
no  expulsive  power  as  towards  sin,  no  attractive  power 
towards  heaven.  Something  more,  something  positive 
is  required  for  that.  The  voice  which  cries,  "  Repent! 
repent!  "  must  also  say,  "  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at 
hand !  "  The  exhibition  of  human  loveliness  as  per- 
fected in  Jesus  Christ,  the  disclosure  of  Divine  love  as 


2/0  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

incarnate  in  Jesus  Christ,  these  are  forces  that  expel 
sin,  and  urge  toward  holiness.  The.  life  and  gospel  of 
Christ,  the  morals,  the  intentions,  the  sequences  of  Chris- 
tianity give  men  a  sense  of  sin,  teach  them  their  im- 
perfection, clarify  and  correct  their  false  ideas  of  life,  and 
open  up  before  them  the  pathway  of  deliverance  from 
evil.  It  is  not  enough  to  show  men  that  they  are 
floundering  in  the  slough  of  sin,  you  must  also  show 
them  that  there  is  a  life  of  holiness  and  happiness  which 
is  better,  and  to  which  it  is  possible  for  them  to  attain. 
There  must  come  along  with  the  revelation  of  sinfulness 
the  correcting  power  of  human  sympathy  and  human 
help. 

These  are  general  principles;  they  apply  to  all  minis- 
tries that  go  forth  among  men  for  good.  They  apply  to 
the  press,  and  I  hold  it  to  be  truth  that  those  news- 
papers and  magazines  that  hold  up  before  the  people 
most  prominently,  persistently  and  attractively  the  beau- 
ties of  human  life,  the  beauties  of  nature,  the  glories  of 
honesty,  of  honor,  of  righteousness,  of  truth  ;  those 
newspapers  that  habitually  pour  upon  human  minds  the 
light,  sweetness  and  blessedness  that  may  be  garnered 
everywhere  around  us,  are  those  who,  by  furnishing 
lofty  ideals,  do  the  very  most  to  convict  men  of  sin  and 
.deliver  them  therefrom.  We  cannot,  therefore,  accept 
the  theory,  that  a  legitimate  function  of  journalism  is  to 
print  unlimited  reflections  of  the  night-life  society,  even 
though  it  shall  do  it  with  the  noble  motive  of  convicting 
the  world  of  sin,  and  leading  it  to  righteousness.  The 
mirror  must  be  turned  toward  heaven  !  Yes,  chiefly 
towards  the  pure,  bright  sweet  heavens  of  God;  and 
must  reflect  upon  society  the  image  of  God  and  of  the 
godlike. 

It  would  indeed  be  a  grateful  assurance  could  we  ap- 
ply to  the  future  of  journalism,  as  was  recently  done  in 
closing  a  public  address  by  a  prominent  journalist  of 
Philadelphia,*  the  words  of  the  Psalmist  :f  "The  Lord 
gave  the  word,  great  was  the  company  of  those  that 
published  it !  " 

*  Mr.  Talcott  Williams.     |  Ps-  lxviii.  11. 


THE  AXGEL  AXD   THE  RAINBOW.  27  I 

II.  Let  us  turn,  in  the  second  place,  to  mark  the  man- 
ner in  which  Heaven's  Angelic  Ministries  are  Received 
by  Mankind. 

It  is  pitiful  to  think  that  the  angel  of  the  Gospel, 
crowned  with  his  symbol  of  mercy  and  peace,  has  so 
often  been  rejected  by  men.  Yet  there  always  have 
been  those  who  joyfully  have  received  the  holy  message 
and  thanked  God  for  the  messenger.  There  are  two 
words  often  used  in  this  nineteenth  century:  "Experi- 
ence— experiment."  They  are  heard  in  halls  where  a 
spurious  Nature-worship  is  rendered  by  a  blind  priest- 
hood to  the  god  of  analysis  and  synthesis.  They  will 
not  believe  in  a  soul  unless  they  can  experiment  with  it. 
Very  good  !  It  is  a  good  word, — experience.  It  has 
long  since  been  received  into  the  very  bosom  of  the- 
ology. We  have  our  treatises  on  religious  experience, 
and  there  is  no  word  better  known  among  evangelical 
Christians  than  "  experimental  religion."  A  "  Christian 
experience  "  is  in  fact  the  only  or  chief  test  of  fitness  for 
Christian  fellowship  in  most  Protestant  communions. 
It  is  claimed  by  a  great  multitude,  whom  no  man  can 
number,  that  they  have  drawn  near  through  Christ  unto 
God ;  have  experienced  renewal  of  their  inner  life,  an 
uplift  of  their  natures  toward  Heaven,  a  widening  of 
hopes,  a  kindling  of  aspirations  which  they  never  knew 
before;  that  they  have  tasted  of  the  joys  of  the  Lord, 
have  been  in  communion  with  the  Spirit  of  Holiness. 
They  can  say  and  do  say  with  the  great  doctor  of  the 
Gentiles,  "  We  know  whom  we  have  believed." 

Call  up  the  witnesses  !  Who  are  they  ?  From  mod- 
ern times  back  to  the  earliest  they  stretch  a  living  link, 
binding  the  garden  of  Eden  with  these  closing  decades  of 
the  nineteenth  century:  Clark  Maxwell,  Henry  Wilson, 
Agassiz,  Garfield,  Logan,  Lee,  Stonewall  Jackson,  Joseph 
Henry,  Michael  Farraday,  Isaac  Newton,  Milton,  Mathew 
Hale,  Fabricius,  Linnaeus,  Erasmus,  Calvin, Knox,  Luther, 
Savonarola,  Huss,  Wycliffe,  Paul,  Moses,  Enoch,  Abel, 
which  was  the  son  of  Adam,  "  which  was  the  son  of  God." 
These  all  walked  with  God.  They  felt  the  change  of  the 
new  life.  They  "  experienced  religion."  Their  testi- 
mony surely  is  worthy  to  be  received   on  this  as  upon 


-7- 


THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 


other  points,  and  that  testimony  must  pass  for  proof  that 
there  is  reality  in  religion,  that  communion  with  God  is 
a  fact  based  upon  experiment.  I  could  bring  Jo  you  to- 
day an  hundred  witnesses  whose  testimony  would  be  re- 
ceived in  any  congress  of  savans  upon  any  one  of  the 
various  points  of  Natural  or  Physical  Science,  in  which 
they  are  experts,  without  the  slightest  hesitation.  These 
witnesses  with  one  consent  will  agree  upon  these  facts 
which  I  have  stated.  They  have  experienced  them. 
With  them  it  is  a  matter  of  personal  experiment  and  ob- 
servation. They  know  the  realities  of  the  soul-lite,  the 
possibilities  of  communion  with  the  eternal  God,  and  the 
power  of  the  world  to  come.  Who  will  reject  their  tes- 
timony? On  what  grounds  should  their  testimony  be 
rejected?  These  clear-minded,  careful  men  who  ponder 
every  fact  with  discriminating  judgment,  cannot  be  given 
credence  upon  one  line  of  facts  and  denied  it  in  another 
concerning  which  they  are  equally  competent  and  confi- 
dent as  witnesses.  No  !  the  facts  of  the  spiritual  life  are 
facts.  The  world  has  been  full  of  witnesses  thereto  since 
ever  the  world  was  ;  and  still  as  the  Angel  of  the  Gos- 
pel goes  forth  with  the  "  little  book  "  believers  and  wit- 
nesses spring  up  to  affirm  their  experience  of  its  hea- 
venly power. 

Why  should  so  many  reject  the  Testimony  ?  I  often 
wonder:  Are  they  defective  on  the  spiritual  side  of  their 
natures  ?  Have  they  persisted  in  withholding  belief  and 
acceptance  until  their  will-power  in  that  direction  has 
ceased?  If  so,  such  men  should  have  little  weight  as 
witnesses  in  any  question  of  religion. 

The  difference  between  the  blue  light  at  one  end  of  the 
beautifully-colored  spectrum  band  and  the  red  at  the 
other,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  difference  almost 
identical  with  a  difference  between  a  high  note  and  a  low- 
note  upon  the  piano.  The  reason  why  one  end  of  the 
spectrum  is  red  and  the  other  blue,  is  that  in  light  as  in 
sound  we  have  a  system  of  disturbances  or  waves;  we 
have  long  waxes  and  short  waves,  and  what  the  low  notes 
are  to  music  the  red  waves  are  to  light.  The  disper- 
sion of  light,  whether  effected  by  refraction  or  diffrac- 
tion, is  simply  the  sorting  out,  and  arranging  in  regular 


THE  ANGEL  AND   THE  RAINBOW. 


-/  o 


succession,  of  the  various  light  tones  in  the  order  of 
their  wave-lengths. 

We  can  now  recognize  the  strict  analogy  between  the 
world  of  sound  and  the  world  of  light.  Ears  are  tuned 
to  hear  different  sounds — some  people  can  hear  much 
higher  notes  than  others,  and  some  people  can  hear 
much  lower  notes  than  others.  In  the  same  way  some 
people  can  see  colors  to  which  other  people  are  blind  ; 
indeed,  the  more  we  go  into  this  matter,  and  the  more 
complete  we  make  our  inquiries,  the  more  striking  be- 
comes the  analogy  between  these  two  classes  of  phenom- 
ena.* Is  it  so,  indeed  ?  Are  there  those  to  whom  the 
beauty  of  the  rainbow  is  but  an  empty  name?  Yes, 
many  of  us  know  such  persons.  Would  it  not  be  a  most 
foolish  act  to  set  the  "color  blind"  to  judge  the  merits 
of  painting?  If  a  man  lack  the  natural  gift  of  spiritual 
insight,  or  have  deliberately  extinguished  his  own  spir- 
itual vision,  is  he  a  trustworthy  guide  for  you  or  any 
soul  in  the  most  solemn  and  important  of  all  decisions  ? 
I  trow  not ! 

There  are  eyeless  fishes  in  Mammoth  Cave.  What  if 
they  with  their  atrophied  sense  of  sight  could  be  per- 
mitted to  hear  and  understand  the  experience  of  the 
great-eyed  dwellers  of  the  deep  sea?  We  might  fancy 
the  latter  telling  of  the  wonders  of  sunlight  as  it  is  seen 
in  the  waters  of  the  ocean ;  of  the  beds  of  coral ;  of  sea 
anemones,  flowers  of  the  great  deep;  of  rocks  and 
sounding  breakers,  boiling  surf  and  rolling  waves  ;  of 
icebergs,  and  rivers  of  the  sea  like  the  Gulf  Stream ;  of 
great  ships,  of  forests  buried  beneath  the  waters,  and 
green  fields  above  them ;  of  all  those  wonders  of  organ- 
ic and  inorganic  life  which  abound  in  and  around  the 
ocean  and  its  depths. 

Our  eyeless  fish,  listening  with  incredulity,  ridicules 
the  deep  sea  creature's  experience,  declaring  out  of  its 
own  consciousness,  judgment,  observation  and  experi- 
ence that  such  things  as  it  had  heard  never  could  be — 
never !    Well,  pass  from  this   fable,  to  suppose  one  who 

*  J.  Norman  Lockyer— "  The  Chemistry  of  the  Sun."  (1SS7.) 
Page  87. 


2;4  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

has  had  no  experience  of  things  that  belong  to  the  spir- 
itual world,  whose  eyes  have  never  been  opened  upon 
the  glory  oi~  Christ,  the  sweetness  of  faith  and  hope 
and  communion  with  God,  in  the  act  of  ridiculing  the 

experience  of  a  Christian,  denouncing  it  as  impossible, 
chimerical,  absurd,  because,  forsooth,  these  things  had 
never  been  known  as  a  part  of  his  own  soul's  experience  ! 

III.  We  have  now  thought  first  o{  the  Nature  of 
Angelic  Messengers,  and  second  the  Recipients  of  their 
Ministries.  Let  us  turn  a  closing  thought  to  the  Pur- 
t  hereof. 

Undoubtedly  that  purpose  is  to  give  men  immortal 
life  with  God.  The  little  book  which  the  angel  with  the 
rainbow  brings  out  of  heaven  to  the  world  is  that  gift  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  which  life  and  immortality  have  been 
brought  to  life.  The  rainbow  crown  which  surrounds 
the  angel's  brow  becomes  in  turn  the  coronal  of  believ- 
ing men.  That  is  indeed  a  gift,  the  soul's  coronation 
with  Divine  love!  Blessed  is  he  who  is  thus  set  apart 
as  a  king  and  priest  unto  his  God  forever,  whose  life  is 
girdled  and  glorified  by  the  protecting  covenant  of 
Divine  mercy ! 

Often,  when  a  small  boy,  I  watched  the  rainbow  span- 
ning the  valley  of  the  Little  Beaver  creek,  on  wh<  >se 
banks  stands  the  Ohio  village  where  I  was  born.  I  was 
told — and  what  lad  has  not  heard  the  same  enticing  as- 
surance ? — that  if  I  would  go  to  the  foot  of  the  rainbow, 
yonder,  where  it  just  touched  the  earth,  I  would  find  a 
pot  of  money.  I  think  it  did  occur  to  me  to  wonder 
why,  then,  my  seniors  did  not  go  and  get  it?  They 
not  usually  so  self-denying  in  the  matter  of  youth- 
ful treasure-pots!  But  with  the  trustful  simplicity  of 
childhood  I  believed  the  assurance,  and  carried  in  my 
heart  the  resolve  one  day  to  secure  that  treasure  as  my 
own.  Well  do  I  remember  the  day  when  at  last  I 
mustered  courage  to  undertake  the  task.  No  Jason  ever 
set  forth  in  search  of  Golden  fleece  with  more  hopeful 
spirit  than  I.  Over  fields,  across  the  shallow  water,  up 
the  rugged  slopes  of  Pine  Hill,  beneath  the  hemlock 
boughs, — only  to   find    the   withdrawing   image  further 


THE  ANGEL  AND  THE  RAINBOW.  275 

still  away,  and  to  stretch  out  my  little  empty  hands 
towards  the  last  dim  tints  that  were  vanishing  from  the 
sky.  Poor  weary-limbed  toddler!  what  a  disappointed 
heart  did  I  carry  home  that  day  within  my  bosom ! 

Have  I  been  wiser  as  a  man  than  I  was  as  a  child  ?  I 
do  not  know;  but  I  have  thought  that  after  all,  the 
old  traditional  trick  of  boyhood  had  within  it  a  hidden 
truth.  There  is  a  treasure  at  the  foot  of  yonder  rain- 
bow for  those  who  know  how  to  find  it,  though,  indeed, 
it  is  not  to  be  found  by  pilgrimages  over  running  streams 
and  rugged  hill-sides,  in  vain  outgrasping  after  material 
treasures.  I  read  the  riddle  differently  now,  and  have 
tried  to  tell  you  what  is  that  hidden  wealth  that  lies 
within  the  circle  of  the  Bow  of  God.  Have  you  learned 
the  lesson  aright?  Do  you  know  the  secret  by  the 
sweet  experience  of  that  peace  which  comes  through  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ?  Thus  interpreted,  there 
can  be  no  better  wish  for  you  than  that  you  may  retain 
the  old  childish  longing  for,  and  faith  in  the  treasure  of 
the  rainbow.  Oh,  if  our  hearts  could  but  keep  fresh 
through  all  our  days,  the  innocence,  trust,  hopefulness, 
and  unworldiness  of  childhood ! 

My  heart  leaps  up  when  I  behold 

A  Rainbow  in  the  sky  ; 
So  was  it  when  my  life  began  ; 
So  is  it  now  I  am  a  Man  ; 
So  be  it  when  I  shall  grow  old, 

Or  let  me  die  ! 
The  Child  is  Father  of  the  Man  ; 
And  I  could  wish  my  days  to  be 
Bound  each  to  each  by  natural  piety.* 

Surely  you  all  can  wish  that.  By  God's  help  try  to 
make  good  your  desires.  Let  every  heavenly  ministry 
vouchsafed  to  you,  be  used  with  intelligent  faithful- 
ness. Thankful  for  the  help  which  God  gives  you  in 
His  Church,  His  ministry,  His  ordinances,  His  word, 
His  Sabbath — add  day  to  day  and  decade  to  decade 
until  all  life  from  childhood  to  manhood  shall  be 
arched  with  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  your  souls  at 
last  "  over  the  bridge  of  colors  seven  "  shall  pass  from 
earth  to  Heaven ! 


*  William  Wordsworth — "The  Rainbow." 


276  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NATURE.. 

To  mark  the  lives  of  friends,  parishioners,  readers, 
hearers  thus  growing  in  all  womanly  beaut)-  and  manly 
strength  ;  to  see  characters  developing  sweetness,  be- 
nevolence, patience,  industry,  unselfishness,  love,  every 
Christian  virtue  and  grace — this  is  the  highest  reward 
as  it  should  be  the  lofty  purpose  of  every  spirit  who 
ministers  living  thoughts  to  living  souls.  The  Pastor's 
holy  pleasure  in  the  ripening  characters  of  these  sub- 
jects of  his  ministry  has  well  been  expressed  by  one  of 
the  noblest  of  England's  Christian  poets.* 

These  In  Life's  distant  even 

Shall  shine  serenely  bright, 
As  in  the  autumnal  heaven 

.Mild  rainbow  tints  at  night, 
When  the  last  shower  is  stealing  down. 

And  ere  they  sink  to  rest, 
The  sunbeams  weave  a  parting  crown 

For  some  sweet  woodland  nest. 

The  promise  of  the  morrow 

Is  glorious  on  that  eve, 
Dear  as  the  holy  sorrow 

When  good  men  cease  to  Iv 
When  brightening  ere  it  die  away 

Mounts  up  their  altar  flame, 
Still  tending  with  intenser  ray 

To  Heaven  whence  first  it  came. 

Say  not  it  dies,  that  glory, 

'Tis  caught  unquenched  on  high, 

Those  saint-like  brows  so  hoary 

:  wear  it  in  the  sky. 
No  smile  is  like  the  smile  of  death, 

When  all  good  musings  past 
Rise  wafted  with  the  parting  breath, 

'1  he  sweetest  thoughts  the  last. 

*  K:  BLE — "  Christian  Year."     25th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 


LECTURE  XV. 


Lessons  from  the  Spring. 

uThe  winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone, 
the  flowers  appear  o?i  the  earth,  •  the  time  of  the  sing- 
ing of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  dove 
is  heard  in  our  land.  The  fig  tree  putteth  forth  her 
green  figs,  and  the  vines  with  the  tender  grape  give 
a  good  smell" — Song  OF  Songs  ii.    n-13. 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  SPRING. 


This  piece  of  exquisite  composition  is  an  extract 
from  the  "  Song  of  Songs,  which  is  Solomon's."  It  is  a 
description  of  that  period  of  the  year  in  the  Holy  Land 
which  lies  between  winter  and  summer,  and  which  by 
analogy  may  be  called  spring.  In  point  of  fact  there  are 
but  two  seasons  in  Palestine  which  are  referred  to  con- 
tinually throughout  the  Bible  as  summer  and  winter, 
cold  and  heat,  seed  time  and  harvest.  This  is  the  gen 
eral  division,  although,  of  course,  in  a  country  so  situ- 
ated there  is  great  diversity  and  variety  of  climate.  We 
think  of  the  United  States  as  embracing  an  immense 
variety  of  climate  and  products.  There  is  nothing  spe- 
cially remarkable,  however,  in  such  a  fact  considering 
the  vast  expanse  of  our  domain.  But  when  we  think  of 
Palestine  as  a  little  strip  of  land  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  length  and  forty  miles  more  or  less  in  width,  it 
is  a  matter  for  remark  that  its  climate  should  vary  with- 
in that  limited  range  from  the  cold  snows  of  the  summits 
of  Mount  Lebanon  to  the  tropics  of  the  valley  of  the 
Jordan.  One  may  pass  by  a  few  hours'  travel  from  the 
depths  of  winter  on  the  mountains  about  Jerusalem  to 
the  palm  groves  and  sugar  fields  of  the  Ghor  at  the  head 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Jericho.  But  we 
shall  have  substantial  accuracy  if  we  hold  to  the  thought 
that  the  Holy  Land  is  divided  into  the  two  seasons 
of  a  comparatively  rainless  summer  and  a  winter  that  is 
marked  by  heavy  rains.  I  have  already  alluded  to  this 
feature  in  the  climate  of  Palestine  in  a  previous  lecture,* 
and  it  will  only  be  required  to  state  here  that  "  the  win- 
ter" of  our  text  is  this  season  of  rain. 

The  winter  rains  commence  about  the  beginning  of 
November,  and  continue  with  greater  or  less  constancy 
until    the    end  of  February  or  the    middle   of    March. 

""Lecture  XI.  :  "Showers  of  Blessings." 

(279) 


2S0  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

They  arc  a  succession  of  severe  showers  or  storms,  with 
intervening  periods  of  fine  bright  weather  permitting 
the  grain  crops  to  grow  and  ripen.     The  climate  during 

the  winter  months  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  south 
of  France,  or  the  maritime  districts  of  the  north  of 
Italy.  When  the  season  rains  have  ceased,  and  the  win- 
ter is  over  and  gone,  the  whole  face  of  the  earth,  having 
been  fed  and  prepared  by  the  nourishing  showers,  is 
quickened  by  the  warm  sun  into  luxurious  fertility. 
The  grass  springs  up  everywhere;  the  hills  are 
ered  with  verdant  olive  trees;  the  fig  trees  and  pome- 
granates, which  grow  in  great  abundance,  push  out  their 
green  figs  and  fresh  leaves;  and  in  the  days  of  Solomon 
as  now,  no  doubt  the}-  were  everywhere  intermixed 
with  the  vines  which  were  in  great  luxuriance.*  The 
flowers  just  forming  into  the  grape  diffuse  far  and  wide 
that  delightful  fragrance  which  is  familiar  to  all  vine- 
growing  lands  in  early  spring. 

We  may  suppose,  without  departing  from  reasonable 
probability,  that  Solomon  drew  his  beautiful  descn 
fn>m  his  own  familiar  pleasure-gardens.  History  has 
testified  to  the  character,  beauty  and  extent  of  these, 
and  the  great  king  has  himself  left  record  of  his  tast  . 
which  was  indeed  a  prevailing  passion  among  many  ori- 
ental sovereigns  of  ancient  times:  "I  planted  me  vine- 
yards, I  made  gardens  and  parks,  and  planted  them  with 
trees  of  every  kind  of  fruit.  1  made  me  pools  of  water 
to  water  therefrom  nurseries  of  forest  trees. "f  Here  we 
have  the  natural  groundwork  of  the  allegorical  descrip- 
tion of  Nature  contained  in  the  Song  of  S<>ngs.  Vine- 
yards   and    gardens,    pleasure-gardens,    fruit   trees,   and 

-pools  are  mentioned  atvario  -  in  the  £ 

:  ihus,  in  his  description  of  Solomon's  buildings, 
magnificence,  and  glory,  relates  that  the  king  was  a 
lover  of  horses  and  chariots,  then  remarkable  objects 
in  Judea,  and  that  lie  drove  in  a  high  chariot,  surround- 
ed by  halberdiers  of  his  life-guard  in  gorgeous  attire  in 
gold-powdered  hair.  He  often  drove  forth  as  early  in 
the  morning  as  daybreak,  the  most  delightful  period  of 

inar — "Mis  i  n  of  Inquiry  to  the  Jews,"  pagi 

ii.  4-6. 


LESSOXS  FROM  THE  SPRIXG.  28 1 

Palestine  in  summer,  to  his  lovely  gardens,  not  far  dist- 
ant from  Jerusalem.* 

How  fond  Solomon  was  of  Nature  is  manifest  not 
only  by  the  statement  concerning  him  f  that  he  dis- 
coursed concerning  trees  and  cattle,  birds,  creeping 
things  and  fishes,  but  by  the  manner  in  which  these  ob- 
jects continually  appear  in  his  writings.  In  this  Song  of 
Songs,  for  example,  repeated  mention  is  made  of  the 
cedars  of  Lebanon,  of  cypresses,  of  palms,  of  lilies,  and 
the  thorns  among  which  they  grow,  of  myrrh  and  aloes, 
the  camphire,  mandrakes,  calamus  and  cinnamon,  and 
other  objects  of  the  floral  and  vegetable  world.  He 
speaks  of  horses,  of  sheep  and  goats,  of  hinds  and  roes, 
of  foxes,  lions,  and  leopards;  of  the  turtle  dove,  raven, 
and  generally  of  the  singing  birds.  We  can  therefore 
easily  imagine  the  poet,  the  philosopher,  the  naturalist, 
the  sovereign,  when  the  winter  had  well  passed,  driving 
forth,  before  the  heat  of  the  sun  had  risen  above  the  top 
of  Mount  Olivet,  to  enjoy  amid  the  natural  beauties  of 
his  enclosed  garden  the  sweets  of  the  spring  time. 

It  is  not  strange  that  this  awakening  of  the  natural 
world  should  have  suggested  to  him  the  awakening  of  a 
soul  into  a  new  life ;  that  the  glory  which  everywhere 
was  outbursting  from  the  soil  and  swelling  in  buds  and 
blossoms  from  trees  and  vines  ;  which  was  dotting  the 
face  of  hills  and  the  breast  of  valleys  with  the  lovely 
forms  of  flowers  ;  which  was  filling  the  air  with  the  early 
matins  of  song  birds  come  back  from  their  winter  wan- 
derings to  build  again  among  the  branches ;  it  is  not 
strange  that  sights  and  sounds  like  these  should  have 
suggested  to  such  a  mind  the  mighty  change  which 
passes  over  the  human  soul  when  it  is  born  again  under 
the  power  of  a  living  faith  and  sets  forth  in  the  midst  of 
the  world  the  tokens  of  a  new  life. 

I  do  not  enter  into  the  discussions  which  have  so  long 
prevailed  among  Biblical  scholars  as  to  the  nature  and 
purpose  of  this  composition  from  which  our  text  is 
taken.  I  accept  as  substantially  correct  the  view  which 
the  Church  has  taken  that  the  inspired  author  here  pur- 
poses to  set  before  our  minds  an  image  of  the  love  which 

*Josephus — "Antiquities,"  viii.  7,  3.     f  I.  Kings  iv.  n. 


282  Till    C(  ■:  I •/:/-  IN  X.  1  Tl  rRE. 

exists  between  Christ  and  his  Bride  the  Church  ;  that,  in 
tin-  picture  of  the  passing  of  winter  and  the  coming  ol 
spring,  there  is  depicted  the  sweetness  which  comes  to  a 
soul  within  the  Church  when  the  light  of  Divine  love 
shines  within  it;  when  the  Spirit  of  the  loving  God  has 
rolled  back  the  bitter  season  of  unbelief,  and  through 
the  falling  teardrops  of  sorrow  for  sin  struggles  the  first 
glint  of  a  renewed  nature.  It  is  from  this  standpoint 
that  1  ask  you  to  consider  our  subject  to-day  while  we 
gather  up  a  few  of  the  lessons  which  are  suggested  by 
the  return  of  spring. 

I.   First  of  all  let  us  notice  the  Tower  which  produces 
this  change.     It  is  not  of  man,  but  of  God. 

It  cannot  be  said,  when  in  the  warm  days  of  spring 
the  vegetable  world  is  stirred  with  its  new  life,  that  the 
sole  causes  of  this  change  exist  within  the  plants  them- 
selves. Undoubtedly  the  principle  of  a  new  life  is  with- 
in the  seed.  The  capacity  to  be  renewed  is  within  the 
plant,  but  unless  the  showers  had  fallen,  the  sun  had 
shined,  the  warm  currents  of  life  had  flowed  through  the 
veins  of  mother  earth,  and  the  soil  had  contributed  her 
nourishing  strength,  there  would  have  been  no  change, 
no  quickening,  no  new  life.  So  it  is  with  the  human 
soul.  Man  is  salvable.  1  le  is  capable  of  being  renewed 
in  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ.  That  is  to  say,  the  germ 
of  a  holy  life  and  a  happy  future  lies  within  that  < 
tial  nature  with  which  he  was  originally  gifted  oi  l 
and  concerning  which  the  Creator  said,  "It  is  very 
lint  those  germs  lie  buried  under  the  ruin  of 
tlie  fallen  man,  and  are  torpid  with  the  benumbing  in- 
fluences "l  sin.  In  the  deforested  mountains  of  I 
sylvania  of  chestnut  and  oak    spring  up.     The 

germs  of  the  chestnuts  lie   hidden  beneath  the  pine  for- 
of  the  AUeghenies,  but   they  would  lie  there  un- 
dev(  lop<  d  i'  >rev<  r  did  not  the  axeman's  hand  clear  away 
mighty  trunks  of  tin-  overshadowing  pines  ami  let 
d's  sunlight,  and  the  free  circulating  air,  and  the 
full  rains  of  heaven.     Then  up  spring  the  long-buried 
germs,  and  chestnut  groves  wave  where  once  pine  forests 
id. 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  SPRING.  2S3 

I  am  not  seeking  here  to  enter  upon  the  question  of 
man's  natural  depravity,  or  the  extent  of  that  depravity. 
I  am  simply  asserting,  what  all  theologians  must  declare, 
that  for  the  practical  purposes  of  man's  salvation  the 
truth  lies  as  here  I  have  put  it.  Let  man's  nature  be 
what  it  may,  the  possibility  of  the  new  life  must  count 
as  nothing  unless  the  Spirit  of  God  breathe  like  the 
winds  above  it,  shine  with  the  light  of  truth  upon  it,  and 
descend  thereon  as  showers  of  blessings.  Without  these 
operations  of  the  Divine  Spirit  the  beauty,  joy,  and  fruit- 
fulness  of  the  new  birth  can  never  come  to  a  soul.  Its 
winter  shall  never  be  past;  its  May  day  can  never  dawn. 
Let  us  emphasize  the  thought  that  for  this  mighty  soul- 
change  we  must  look  to  God  alone. 

Can  man  produce  a  spring  by  artificial  appliances? 
Can  he  send  throughout  Nature,  by  means  of  furnace- 
fires  or  steam-pipes,  the  thrill  of  life  which  bids  the 
kingdom  of  plants  leap  into  being  and  beauty?  No! 
Man  may  make  a  hot-house,  but  he  cannot  cause  a 
spring  time.  He  may  cultivate  his  little  beds  of  flowers 
and  banks  of  tropical  plants  within  the  narrow  confines 
of  steam-heated  rooms  covered  with  glazed  roofs,  and 
give  our  winter  months  a  taste  of  artificial  greenery;  he 
may  force  sweet  flowers  and  beautiful  flowers  from 
which  all  fragrance  has  been  cultured,  to  grow  in  pots 
and  yield  untimely  blossoms  in  the  very  face  of  winter 
snows.  But  what  a  small  thing  is  that  compared  with 
those  mighty  and  mysterious  results  which  are  wrought 
everywhere  around  us  in  the  Spring!  Who  can  fill  the 
mountains  with  the  glory  of  the  greening  forests?  Who 
can  cover  the  valleys  with  verdant  grasses  and  dot  them 
with  the  bright  eyes  of  countless  wild  flowers  ?  Who 
can  array  innumerable  orchards  with  white  blossoms  of 
cherry  trees  and  pink  blossoms  of  peach  and  apple  ? 
Who  can  send  the  currents  of  vitalizing  heat  through 
the  hearts  of  the  hills,  and  push  out  upon  the  dogwoods 
their  great  white  blossoms,  sprinkle  the  meadow  with 
violets  and  daisies,  trail  the  sweet  arbutus  along  fields 
and  skirts  of  woods,  and  fill  the  air  over  the  sunny 
slopes  with  that  fragrance  of  blossoming  vines  which 
was  so  sweet  to  Solomon  in  the  spring  days  of  Palestine  ? 


2 $4  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Ah  !  who  can  do  this  but  that  Omnipotent  Force  in 
Nature  whom  men  call  God?  Yes,  man  may  make  a 
hot-house,  but  God  alone  can  make  a  Spring. 

How  true  is  the  metaphor  when  we  pass  with  it  into 
the  spiritual  realm!  There  are  no  human  forces  that 
can  cause  a  change  of  heart.  Civilization,  culture,  edu- 
cation, art,  science — these  may  indeed  clothe  a  life  with 
some  semblance  of  outward  beaut}-;  but  if  one  would 
penetrate  the  soul  to  its  utmost  depths  with  regenerative 
forces;  if  one  would  permeate  society  through  all  its 
length  and  breadth  with  the  power  of  spiritual  life  and 
salvation,  he  must  call  upon  God,  who  alone  is  able  to 
do  this  for  man  and  for  society.  Let  us  then  look 
reverently  up  to  Him  as  the  author  of  even-  good  and 
perfect  gift.  "  It  is  not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by 
my  spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  "Which  are  born  not  of 
blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of 
man,  but  of  God."* 

II.  Second,  the  great  season-change  of  the  year  teaches 
us  a  lesson  of  Encouragement  and  Hope  in  Labors  lor 
the  Spiritual  Good  of  Men. 

How  drearily  the  winter  has  dragged  along  !  How  of- 
ten have  we  wearied  as  storm  has  succeeded  storm  !  Will 
winter  never  be  over?  Oh,  this  dreary  winter,  will  it 
never  end  ?  Such  have  been  the  queries  and  exclama- 
tions falling  from  many  lips.  The  aged,  the  invalid  and 
little  children,  shut  up  within  their  homes  during  the 
long  cold  months,  have  grown  so  tired  and  wished  so 
rly  for  a  change!  Those  who  have  had  vigor  to 
brave  the  storms  have  fought  the  battle  with  manful  and 
womanly  perseverance,  yet  they  too  have  often  tired  of 
the  struggle  and  longed  that  it  might  be  ended  by  the 
coming  of  the  pleasant  spring.  There  are  none  who  feel 
the  pinch  of  winter  so  keenly  as  the  poor. 

••  I". »r  God  i 'iily  knows 
Tis  a  most  bitter  l>>t  to  be  poor  when  it  snows." 

There  sits  the  widow  in  her  little  room  with  her  or- 
phaned children,  nursing  the  little  fire  kindled  within  her 

*  John  i.  13. 


LESSORS  FROM  THE  SPRIXG.  2S5 

little  stove,  frugally  doling  out  the  little  shovelfuls  of  coal 
which  she  has  bought  in  little  bucketfuls  at  a  time  from 
the  little  retail  shop  around  the  corner.  The  wind  rattles 
at  the  rickety  window.  The  snow  drifts  through  the 
broken  glass.  The  streets  are  banked  with  windrows  of 
soiled  snow.  The  pavements  are  icy  with  frozen  sleet. 
Work  is  scant,  wages  are  low.  Winter  pinches  hard  and 
harder  until  life  becomes  well  nigh  a  burden.  Ah,  we 
do  not  wonder  that  the  widow  and  the  orphan  and  the 
helpless  poor  grow  weary  over  our  tedious  and  severe 
winter,  and  wonder,  Will  it  ever  be  over?  Will  the 
spring  time  ever  come  ? 

Have  you  never  looked  out  upon  fields  banked  with  a 
snowfall  a  foot  or  more  in  depth,  and  streams  bound  fast 
in  fetters  of  ice,  and  trees  shaking  their  bare  branches  in 
the  cutting  air,  and  been  conscious  of  a  thought  some- 
what like  this:  Can  it  be  possible  that  all  these  shall 
change  to  the  verdure  and  balm  of  June  ?  It  is  indeed 
a  marvelous  transformation,  and  yet  as  surely  as  win- 
ter comes,  winter  goes.  The  earth  that  is  hardened  like 
a  stone  by  the  frosts  that  lie  far  down  beneath  the  sur- 
face shall  be  mellowed  ;  the  roots  shall  be  unloosed  from 
the  grasp  of  the  Frost  King's  icy  fingers  ;  the  frozen 
streams  shall  be  unlocked,  and  their  fetters  cast  loose 
upon  the  crest  of  freshets  swollen  by  melting  snows  ; 
fields  and  forests  shall  be  clad  in  verdure  and  made  vocal 
with  the  hum  of  life  ;  the  winter  shall  be  over  and  gone, 
spring  shall  come!  Always  since  the  earth  began  it  has 
been  so.  Always  while  the  world  swings  on  its  orbit  it 
shall  be  so.  Summer  and  winter,  seed  time  and  harvest, 
shall  not  fail. 

We  carry  our  metaphor  into  the  spiritual  realm,  and 
find  it  here  also  true  that  sun  and  season  prevail  over  all 
the  discouragements,  disappointments  and  obstacles  of 
the  spiritual  conflict.  The  human  heart  is  indeed  hard, 
and  lives  are  often  blighted  by  the  frosts  of  sin.  The 
streams  of  charity  and  goodness  become  bound  within 
the  human  heart  in  more  than  icy  fetters,  and  the  soul 
is  barren  of  beauty  and  fruitfulness  as  are  the  meadows, 
and  woods  in  winter.  But  over  all  this  dreary  landscape 
there  floats  the  promise  of  a  renewed  life.     Trust  that 


286  THE  G(  )SPEL  IN  X.  \  Tl  'k'E. 

promise  rind  keep  a  good  heart!  The  souls  around  you 
who  seem  so  impervious  to  the  gentle  influences  of  the 
Gospel,  to  the  calls  of  God  which  you  have  sounded  so 
often  summoning  them  to  a  new  life,  they  at  last — be- 
it,  O  discouraged  one  ! — shall  experience  the  blessed 
change  from  death  unto  life.  Sin  is  stronger  than  win- 
ter, and  evil  habits  are  mightier  bonds  than  crysta 
ice,  but  God  is  great  God  is  omnipotent,  and  He  is 
able  even  to  the  uttermost.  They  who  trust  Him  shall 
r  be  confounded,  and  He  has  promised  to  bless  His 
truth  to  the  deliverance  of  the  sinner's  soul. 

We  need  to  remember  this  lesson  of  the  spring  in 
view  of  the  many  discouragements  that  come  to  us  in 
prosecuting  the  work  of  Christ  among  our  fellow-men. 
We  follow  our  missionaries  in  their  self-denying  labors 
among  the  nations  of  heathenism,  oftentimes  with  a  dis- 
couraged and  doubtful  heart.  The  winter  has  reigned 
so  long,  superstition  and  sins  of  paganism  have  per- 
meated society  so  deeply  that  one  seems  to  be  sowing 
seeds  upon  icebergs.  How  can  the  warmth  of  one  soul 
mellow  and  melt  the  frigid  ignorance  of  a  whole  city? 
What  is  one  among  so  many?  Yet  it  is  our  obvious 
duty  to  obey  the  Master's  command  and  push  forward 
the  Master's  work,  believing  that  the  Master  himself  will 
give  it  lodging  and  growth  in  I  lis  own  good  time.  Is  he 
not  able  to  turn  the  king's  heart  whithersoever  he  will? 
lias  he  not  often  in  the  past  touched  the  secret  springs 
oi  national  life,  and  caused  a  nation  to  be  born  at  once? 
Is  not  Jesus  Christ  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  and  are 
not  His  divine  precepts  those  healing  rays  which  are  to 
prepare  humanity  for  the  great  salvation?  Is  not  the 
Holy  Spirit  the  breath  of  the  living  God,  and  is  He  not 
able  to  cause  life  to  spring  up  even  in  the  bosom  of 
death?  Yes,  certainly!  and  while  these  facts  remain, 
faith  and  hope  may  abide. 

The  progress  of  Christianity  amongst  pagan  nations, 
viewed  in  single  decade-,  may  not  seem  very  great,  but 

as  we  glance  backward  along  the  whole  period  .since  the 

birth  of  modern  missi.  »ns,  scarcely  a  century  as  yet,  we  ^^ 
see  a  marked  i  hange  1  The  full  tide  of  the  spiritual  sum- 
mer has  not  come  in,  it  is  true.    Nay,  we  cannot  venture 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  SPRING.  287 

to  hope  that  even  the  spring  has  fully  dawned.  But 
over  the  wastes  of  paganism  we  may  see  here  and  there 
greening  patches  which  show  that  the  God  of  the  sea- 
sons is  preparing  the  way  for  spring.  Here  and  there 
flowers  are  appearing  in  the  earth,  and  the  voice  of  the 
singing  bird  may  be  heard.  The  change  has  begun. 
Undoubtedly  our  sight  discerns  this  and  so  strengthens 
our  faith.  The  frosts  of  winter  are  beginning  to  yield; 
the  icy  grip  of  paganism  begins  to  relax  ;  the  sun  of 
Christian  love  is  slowly  stealing  beneath  the  surface  of 
society,  and  congealed  hearts  are  yielding  to  the  genial 
warmth.  The  change  has  begun,  and  as  surely  as  spring, 
when  once  its  mighty  forces  have  begun  to  awaken,  shall 
move  forward  through  whatever  lapses,  oscillations  and 
discouragements,  forward  to  the  consummation  of  balmy 
May  and  regal  June,  so  surely  shall  the  nations  that  have 
once  begun  to  yield  beneath  the  power  of  Christ's  Gos- 
pel stay  not  in  their  progress  until  the  truth  shall  prevail. 
Then  shall  the  handful  of  corn  on  the  mountains  wave 
like  the  forests  of  Lebanon.  Then  shall  the  hosts  of 
God  on  earth  and  in  heaven  lift  their  rejoicing  song  to 
the  skies,  "  the  winter  is  past,  the  flowers  appear  on  the 
earth,  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come!  " 

III.  A  third  lesson  which  we  may  learn  from  the 
Spring  is  that  the  Change  of  a  Spiritual  Life  from  Evil 
to  Good  is  often  Gradual  in  its  Nature  and  Manifestation. 

In  our  climate  at  least,  it  is  hard  to  tell  where  winter 
ends  and  spring  begins.  Who  can  tell  just  when  Spring 
came  ?  The  sun  gathered  warmth  and  the  earth  gathered 
verdure.  There  were  fitful  days  of  sunshine  and  storm. 
The  season  oscillated  through  the  months  of  March  and 
early  April,  and  appeared  a  score  of  times  as  though  it 
would  swing  forward  into  the  balmy  days  of  May,  but 
as  the  keen  winds  blew,  swung  back  again,  and  reminded 
us  that  winter  was  still  lingering.  At  last  on  the  little 
patches  of  sward  that  look  toward  the  south  we  seemed 
to  see  a  growing  tint  of  green.  One  morning  we  looked 
again  and  said  to  ourselves,  "  Surely  the  plots  are 
brightening!  They  are  looking  very  green  to-day!" 
Then  came  a   balmy  day  when   we    could    swing   the 


28S  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

windows  wide  and  let  in  the  first  breath  of  spring  to 
course  through  chambers  and  hall  and  sweep  out  the 
lifeless  furnace  air  from  the  corners  and  freshen  the 
whole  house.  That  was  a  day  indeed  to  make  our 
hearts  glad,  and  fill  us  with  hope  of  what  soon  should 
be.  Another  day  we  walked  down  the  street  and 
glanced  over  a  railing,  and  there  was  a  crocus  peeping  its 
face  above  the  new  grass.  An<  »ther  day  when  w  e  h  ><  >ked 
there  was  a  dandelion,  the  bright  harbinger  of  May! 
Not  a  fragrant  flower,  indeed,  nor  a  comely  one  to  the 
common  standard  of  human  taste,  but  one  whose  cheer- 
ful face  is  filled  with  laughter  and  promise,  and  of  all  the 
flowers  of  our  latitude  is  best  worthy  to  be  embalmed  as 
the  happy  symbol  of  Nature's  resurrection.  Hark  !  there- 
is  the  song'  of  a  bird  !  Not  the  chattering  .call  of  the 
sparrows  whose  dusky  coats  have  been  familiar  on  our 
streets  throughout  the  winter  days,  but  the  sweet  twitter 
of  a  robin,  or  the  whistle  of  a  Vireo.  Yes,  the  migratory 
birds  have  come  back.  They  are  here  to  stay — the  van- 
guard of  the  coming  host  that  by  and  by  shall  fill  the 
trees  and  sing  among  the  branches.  It  is  spring!  Spring 
has  come  !  When  did  it  come  ?  We  do  not  know.  We 
cannot  mark  the  daw     Winter  ha  dually  shaded 

into  Spring  that  we  can  only  say  that  we  know  that 
Spring  lias  come  because  we  discern  that  Spring  is  here. 
It  is  often  so  with  that  spiritual  change  which  we  call 
regeneration.  It  is  hard  to  tell  just  when  the  old  nature 
was  put  off  and  the  new  man  was  put  on.  Said  Jesus, 
"  As  the  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  canst 
not  tell  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth,  so  is 
every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  Do  you  ask  me 
what  practical  uses  there  can  be  to  such  a  statement  as 
this?  I  answer  they  are  very  great!  For  example, 
there  are  many  Christians  who  make  one  of  the  most 
serious  mistakes  of  their  lives  by  erring  upon  this  point. 
They  have  been  long  looking  for  a  decided  change- 
where  in  their  spiritual  life — a  jumping  straight  out 
of  ungodliness  into  Christian  excellent  .  B  cause  they 
cannot  lay  their  finger  upon  such  a  time,  nor  fix  with 
their  thought  the  very  day  when  and  the  place  where 
the   new   birth  came   to  them,  they  are  full  of  sorrow; 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  SPRING.  289 

they  doubt  their  change  of  heart;  they  push  aside  the 
joy  that  Jesus  lays  at  their  lip,  and  refuse  to  join  in  the 
chorus  with  God's  saints :  "  The  winter  is  past,  the 
rain  is  over  and  gone,  the  flowers  appear  on  the  earth, 
and  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come." 

It  is  not  well  to  push  too  closely  into  the  kingdom  of 
God's  grace  the  analogies  that  are  drawn  from  Nature,  but 
I  certainly  do  think  that  here  at  least  God  works  in  grace 
very  much  as  he  does  in  Nature.  One  need  not  deny 
that  regeneration  is  instantaneous.  It  may  indeed  be 
so  to  the  thought  and  act  of  God,  but  I  am  quite  pre- 
pared to  say  that  usually 'the  manifestation  of  that  change 
to  the  soul  and  upon  the  life  is  gradual.  Why  then 
should  you  hold  yourselves  back  from  the  hopes,  joys 
and  privileges  of  Christ's  household,  because  you  can- 
not fix  the  date  and  place  of  your  new  birth  unto  God  ? 

I  recall  the  case  of  one  dear  old  lady  who  during  a 
number  of  years  of  my  acquaintance  gave  constant  and 
satisfactory  evidence  of  a  sweet  and  godly  trust  in  her 
Holy  Saviour.  If  in  the  household  where  she  dwelt 
there  was  any  Christian  life  at  all,  it  was  manifest  in  her. 
Those  who  had  known  her  longest  said  that  for  many 
years,  indeed,  as  it  afterward  proved,  from  the  very  days 
of  her  childhood,  she  had  been  the  same  loving,  Christ- 
like soul,  humble  in  heart,  walking  with  God  and  lovely 
in  her  conversation  which  was  "  fixed  in  heaven."  Yet 
she  would  not  come  to  the  holy  communion  because  she 
did  not  think  herself  a  Christian.  She  would  not  solace 
herself  with  the  hope  of  Heaven,  with  the  consolation 
that  she  was  God's  child,  because  she  thought  this  would 
be  unbecoming  in  one  who  had  no  evidence  of  a  change 
of  heart!  And  wrhy  did  she  have  no  such  evidence? 
Simply  because  she  had  been  taught  in  her  early  child- 
hood that  regeneration  would  come  to  her  through  some 
mighty  convulsion  of  soul.  There  would  be  a  season  of 
tempestuous  sorrow  for  sin,  and  then,  swift  as  lightning 
out  of  the  thunder-cloud,  would  come  to  her  the  raptur- 
ous assurance  of  salvation,  and  out  of  the  depths  she 
would  mount  at  once  with  strong  wings  to  Pisgah 
heights,  and  sing  with  all  saints,  "  Hallelujah  to  the 
Lamb !" 


290  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  'RE. 

Have  you  any  such  belief  or  feeling  as  that?  It  is 
just  as  though  you  expected  Winter  to  pass  into  Spring 
by  a  single  convulsion  of  nature.  One  day  of  moun- 
tainous clouds,  vocal  with  thunder  and  fearful  with 
lightning  Hashes,  followed  by  the  clash  and  roar  of  all 
the  elements,  and  then  when  the  storm  had  swept  by 
into  the  distant  horizon,  lo!  the  winter  is  gone!  The 
snows  have  disappeared!  The  air  is  balmy  with  the 
breath  of  Spring!  The  earth  is  soft  with  the  life  of 
May.  The  meadows  are  green,  the  forests  are  filled  with 
buds,  the  flowers  appear,  and  the  birds  are  singing,  sing- 
ing their  sweet  songs.  There  newer  was  a  season-change 
such  as  this,  my  friends  !  There  are,  indeed,  difference*;, 
according  to  latitude  and  elevation,  as  to  the  degr< 
gradation  in  the  progress  of  the  coming  Spring.  To 
some  lands  and  sections  the  season-change  comes  com- 
paratively swiftly;  to  others  it  drags  along  through 
weary  weeks  and  months.  To-day,*  while  here  on  the 
banks  of  the  Delaware  and  Schuylkill  we  are  rejoicing 
beneath  the  blossoms,  the  tidings  come  to  us  from  the 
forests  of  Maine  and  the  Adirondack^  of  gathering 
floods  from  the  masses  of  melting  snow  still  packed  be- 
neath the  trees.  But  in  no  land  or  latitude  will  you  ever 
see  a  Spring-change  such  as  this  which  our  fancy  has 
painted.  One  may  venture  to  say  that  almost  as  rare  as 
this  in  the  history  of  redemption  are  the  cases  of  souls 
who  have  passed  from  death  unto  life  at  such  a  sudden 
stroke.  Some  indeed, there  have  been.  Others,  there  may 
be;  but  with  the  great  mass  of  mankind  whose-  experience- 
is  recorded  in  Scripture,  and  in  the  annals  of  the  Church, 
and  whose  experience  is  known  to  us,  the  change  has 
come  .i--  May  comes — step  by  step,  pushing  away  the 
old  and  bringing  in  the  new.  Ah  !  you  who  have  been 
hesitating  so  long  as  to  your  standing  before  the  1 
stop  and  think  of  this  !  You,  too,  may  be  Christ's.  You 
may  be  Christ's  now!  The  Spring  is  already  upon  you. 
It  has  stolen  in  like  the  sweet  May  glory  which  enfolds 
hills  and  streams.  Why  are  you  yet  waiting  for  her  to 
come?  Whydo  you  fold  about  you  the  dry,  dead  leaves 
of  winter,  and    sit    mourning    in    the  " -ear  and   yellow 

•  May  5th,  r 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  SPRING.  291 

leaf"?  O  soul,  awake  !  Sing!  Come  and  rejoice  with 
us  to-day  !  Raise  these  words  of  the  ancient  song,  "  The 
winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone,  the  time  of 
singing  birds  is  come." 

Another  class  in  whose  behalf  I  would  urge  this  truth 
is  young  converts.  It  is  a  most  natural  and  beautiful 
step  for  one  to  take  who  turns  from  a  life  of  unbelief  to 
one  of  faith.  And  yet  it  is  a  great  step,  and  it  brings  a 
soul  into  relations  that  are  new  and  difficult.  The  diffi- 
culties are  made  greater  by  misunderstanding  the  possi- 
bilities of  spiritual  attainment  and  the  obligations  which 
Christ  lays  upon  his  children.  There  is  no  mistake  more 
common  than  that  he  who  publicly  professes  his  faith  in 
Christ  thereby  announces  the  fact  that  he  has  become  a  per- 
fect saint.  The  young  Christian  finds  himself  oftentimes 
discouraged,  because  when  his  purpose  is  strongest  to 
do  good,  evil  is  present  with  him.  He  goes  forth  to  duty 
or  pleasure  in  the  morning  having  earnestly  vowed  to 
be  faithful  all  that  day  to  his  new  life  and  Lord;  and 
that  day  will,  perhaps,  be  one  of  humiliation.  Before  it 
has  well  begun  he  shall  have  occasion  to  mourn  because 
of  some  lapse  from  the  right  way,  some  harsh  word  spoken, 
some  thought  or  deed  unworthy  of  his  holy  name  and 
vocation.  Then  comes  the  thought,  "  I  am  no  Christian 
at  all  !  I  am  discouraged  !  I  will  give  up  trying  to  be 
better  !  "  That  would  indeed  be  a  most  unchristian  con- 
clusion. One  in  such  estate  should  not  give  up,  but  rather 
learn  that  such  errors  as  his  are  to  be  expected. 

One  does  not  pass  into  perfection  by  a  single  stride, 
as  he  crosses  the  line  from  Germany  to  France,  from  the 
United  States  to  Canada  or  Mexico.  He  passes  as  the 
world  comes  from  winter  to  spring,  from  January  to  May. 
The  progress  of  sanctification  in  the  soul  is  gradual.  The 
victory  over  sin  is  won  by  a  long  series  of  conflicts  in  which 
there  are  defeats,  humiliations,  but  from  and  after  which 
there  is  always  an  uplifting  and  regirding  of  the  soul  for 
conflict,  and  re-entering  the  lists  to  do  new  battle  for 
righteousness  and  Christ.  Make  up  your  mind  that  to 
err  is  human,  and  that  as  you  are  human,  you  also  will 
probably  err.  Purpose  in  your  mind  to  sin  as  little  as 
possible,  but  when  the  time  of  sinning  has  overtaken  your 


292  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  'RE. 

soul,  do  not  wonder  as  though  some  marvel  had  occurred, 
but,  confessing  your  fault,  turn  with  new  devotion  and 
vigor  to  the  Christian  life.  Try  to  be  better  to-day  than 
you  were  yesterday;  to  be  better  to-morrow  than  you 
are  to-day,  even  a  little  better, — that  will  do, — and  so  day 
by  day  growing  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ  you  shall  find  your  soul  gradually  clothed  upon 
with  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and  your  life  daily  approach- 
ing the  requirements  of  the  Gospel. 

Be  sure  of  this,  that  the  battle  against  sin  in  your  heart 
will  never  end  on  earth.  Even  St.  Paul  could  say  :  "  But 
I  see  a  different  law  in  my  members,  warring  against  the 
law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  under 
the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members.  Oh!  wretched 
man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  out  of  the  body 
of  this  death?  I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord."*  Yes,  through  Jesus  Christ  your  Lord,  you 
too,  as  did  St.  Paul,  shall  overcome  the  law  of  sin  that 
is  within  your  members;  but  it  will  not  bean  immediate 
victory.  It  will  be  a  life-conflict.  You  shall  ripen  into 
the  Christian  character,  and  when  you  become  like  St. 
Paul,  the  aged,  you  will  be  able  to  look  back  over  the 
past,  and  with  joyful  spirit  thank  God  for  your  sanctified 
being.  Then  you  too  may'  say  and  sing:  "I  have 
fought  the  good  fight,  I  have  finished  the  course,  I  have 
kept  the  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  the 
crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous 
Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day."f 

In  truth,  the  work  of  perfecting  shall  never  be  ended 
within  the  human  soul.  There  is  but  one  absolutelv 
perfect  Being — God  alone — who  "is  eternal  and  un- 
changeable, infinite  in  being,  wisdom,  power,  holi- 
justice,  goodness  and  truth."  If  you  shall 
be  so  happy  as  to  attain  immortality  with  God, 
there  will  be  before  you  an  eternity  .of  attainment; 
there  will  be  an  infinity  of  divine  gifts  within  your 
reach,  and  therefore  all  eternity  cannot  exhaust  the 
possibilities  of  your  acquisitions.  Forever  being  per- 
fected, and  never  being  perfect!     This   is  the  destiny 


Rom.  vii.  23-25.    t  II.  Tim.  iv. 


LESSOXS  FROM  THE  SPRING.  293 

which  awaits  you.  Were  it  otherwise,  you  might  con- 
ceive that  even  Heaven  would  grow  monotonous.  If 
you  could  think  that  after  ages  and  millenniums  and 
aeons  of  time  have  rolled  away,  you  should  at  last  have 
gathered  to  your  expanded  souls  the  whole  treasures  of 
heavenly  knowledge,  love  and  grace,  you  might,  even 
with  a  whole  eternity  before  you,  still  grow  weary.  The 
soul  of  man  is  so  constituted  that  progression  is  neces- 
sary to  happiness,  when  once  the  mind  has  been  set  for- 
ward upon  the  path  of  attainment.  It  is  a  wise  saying, 
founded  upon  this  philosophy  of  our  constitution, 

"A  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing — 
Drink  deep,  or  taste  not  the  Pierian  spring. 

Man  must  drink  deep  when  once  he  has  tasted,  and  the 
more  he  quaffs  from  the  stream  of  knowledge,  the  more 
eagerly  does  he  long  for  deeper  draughts.  If  he  could 
pause  at  the  fountain-head  and  feel  that  the  stream  is  dry, 
that  never  more  would  it  flow  with  fresh  supplies  for  him  ; 
that  he  had  tasted  all,  that  he  had  drunk  every  drop, 
would  there  not  then  come  to  his  soul  that  which  would 
throw  a  shadow  even  over  heaven,  a  spirit  of  dissatis- 
faction, a  longing  for  something  more?  But  we  do  not 
cherish  such  a  fear ;  for  we  know  that  the  new  life  which 
begins  in  regeneration  here,  flows  on  endlessly  in  the 
hereafter.  Progression  is  endless  because  God  is  infinite, 
and  the  stores  of  knowledge  which  He  has  at  command 
can  never  be  exhausted  by  the  souls  of  angels  and  men. 
I  once  stood  in  a  cemetery  laid  out  just  above  the 
town  of  Huntingdon,  Pa.,  and  looked  around  upon  a 
beautiful  mountain  scene.  The  history  of  civilization  in 
its  various  stages  westward  lay  within  the  compass  of 
my  vision.  "  There,"  said  my  friend  and  guide,  "  is  the 
old  Indian  trail  by  which  the  red  men  threaded  these 
forests.  Yonder  is  the  bridle  path  by  which  the  first 
pioneers  crossed  towards  the  fertile  fields  of  the  west. 
Yonder  is  the  old  road,  wagon  road,  stage  route,  State 
road  over  which  the  traffic  of  forty  years  ago  rolled  in 
Conestoga  wagons  from  Pittsburg  to  the  sea.  There  is 
the  canal  that  succeeded  the  Conestogas  in  carrying 
Philadelphia's   freights  to  the  foot  of  the   Alleghenies; 


294  THE  GOSPEL  IN  X.  1  Tl  'RE. 

and  there  is  the  track  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  with 
its  scores  of  trains  daily  steaming  to  and  fro  bearing 
men  and  material  from  all  ends  of  the  world  to  all  ends." 
A  story  of  progress  was  outlined  there  as  in  a  map — 
progress  through  conflict  and  cost,  rising  always  toward 
something  better. 

We  turned  from  this  lovely  and  significant  scene  to 
read  an  inscription  upon  a  neighboring  grave-stone. 
The  name  carved  thereon  was  that  of  an  officer  who  fell 
during  the  civil  war  in  defense  of  the  Republic.  The 
inscription  contained  these  words  :  "  His  bod}'  lies  in 
an  unknown  grave  on  the  battle-field,  but  that  God  who 
gave  him  courage  to  die  for  his  country  will  watch  over 
it  until  reanimated  by  his  noble  spirit  on  that  day  when 
earth  and  sea  shall  give  up  their  dead!" 

Sweet  hope !  Death  does  not  end  man's  progress  in 
life  and  life's  acquisitions.  The  old  form  of  life  ends, 
but  the  spirit  survives  and  takes  on  a  new  semblance. 
The  grave  only  closes  the  first  stage  of  man's  develop- 
ment; the  trail  through  life's  dark  forest  opens  upon  a 
wide  road  in  the  Eternity,  and  that  in  turn  shall  open 
into  a  wider,  and  with  swifter  growth  and  change  as  the 
ages  go,  man  shall  leave  behind  him  the  past  and  enter 
upon  higher  stages  of  progress.  This  is  indeed  an  in- 
spiring hope  !  Would  that  you  all  might  receive  it  with 
unfaltering  trust.  Ah  !  the  winter  of  Death  would  then 
cease  to  have  dread  for  you,  for  you  should  know  that 
there  follows  close  upon  it  a  celestial  Spring  that  shall 
move  forward  into  the  perfect  Summer  with  that  fruit- 
age whose  seeds  of  blessedness  are  eternal  within  them- 
selves. 

When  even  at  last  the  solemn  hour  shall  come, 

And  wing  my  mystic  Bight  to  future  worlds, 

I  i  heerful  will  obey;  there,  with  newpowers, 

Will  rising  wonders  sing  :  1  cannot  go 

When-  Universal  Love  not  smiles  around. 

Sustaining  all  yon  orbs,  and  all  their  suns  ; 

From  seeming  evil  still  educing  good, 

And  better  them  e  again,  and  better  still. 

In  infinite  progression.     But  I  lose 

M\  self  in  !  Iim.  in  Light  ineffable  ! 

Come,  then,  expressive  Silence,  muse  His  praise.* 


* Jami-s  Thomsi in  —  "A  1  [ymn  i »n  the  Seasons.*' 


LECTURE  XVI. 


The  Birth  of  the  Flowers. 

"The  floivers   appear  on   the   earth." — Song   of 
Solomon  ii.  12. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  FLOWERS. 


What  beauty  one  sees  covering  the  earth  in  mid- 
May!  The  tender  leaves,  so  far  as  the  trees  have  put 
them  forth,  have  all  the  freshness  of  Easter  clothes.  The 
meadows  and  lawn  wear  their  brightest  livery  of  eme- 
rald sward.  The  yellow,  white  and  blue  flowers  spread 
their  brillianjt  hues  over  all  the  landscape,  and  as  they 
are  the  first  show  of  the  springtide  their  beauty  has  not 
palled  upon  our  senses,  and  we  welcome  them  with  a 
thrill  of  pleasure. 

The  yellow  flowers  are  not  numerous,  but  there  are 
some.  The  Buttercups  nod  in  rich  profusion.  The  Dan- 
delion still  lingers,  although  its  sunny  face,  fresh  with 
the  icy  breath  of  March,  has  been  cheering  us  for  weeks. 
Just  now  its  stalks  are  tipped  with  those  graceful  globes 
which  at  one's  touch  dissolve  into  a  score  of  seeds,  every 
one  tufted  with  a  cluster  of  downy  ciliae  that  float  it  off 
upon  the  breeze  over  the  meadow.  A  lovely  English 
lady  said  to  me,  "  I  wonder  that  you  Americans  love  the 
dandelion.  We  think  it  a  rather  nasty  plant."  Ah,  but 
I  do  not  wonder.  Its  flower  glows  with  the  first  breath 
of  spring;  its  seeds  are  veritable  fairies  in  gracefulness, 
and  its  quaint  notched  leaves,  that  warrant  its  name  of 
lion-tooth  {dent  de  lion),  mark  it  at  once  as  noted  among 
the  common  plants. 

White  flowers  are  more  plentiful.  The  dog-eared 
petals  of  the  Cornus  (Dogwood)  fairly  cover  the  low 
tree,  and  show  afar  off  through  the  woods  like  a  white 
banner  of  ancient  France.  The  Horse-chestnut,  emblem 
of  our  "Buckeye  State,"*  lifts  erect  above  its  broad 
leaves  tall  clustered  cones,  that  reminds  one  of  the 
white  pompon  on  a  soldier's  hat.  The  Locust  trees 
have  begun  to  show  their  pendent  bunches  of  fragrant 
blossoms.  There,  too,  is  the  Snowball  bush,  well  de- 
serving its  name,  for  one  might  fancy  a  boy's  fistful  of 

*  The  JEscidus  glabra  is  Ohio's  plant  emblem. 

(297) 


298  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

snowballs  had  been  stuck  upon  every  twig.  The  Spiraea 
holds  up  branches  flecked  with  woolly  bloom.  The 
Hawthorn's  milk-white  clusters  "scent  the  evening 
gale."  The  Daisies  are  not  yet  plentiful,  but  you  will 
find  them  with  their  star-white  rays  issuing  from  their 
hearts  of  gold;  not  the  "wee  modest  crimson-tipped 
flower,"  of  Burns'  exquisite  poem,  but  our  own  bold 
beauty  who  loves  the  sun  and  society.  The  wild  Straw- 
berry nestles  close  to  the  bosom  of  mother  earth,  with 
its  delicate  odor  and  dainty  bloom.  The  creamy  flower 
of  the  May  Apple  (Podophyllum)  hangs  on  its  wax-like 
stem  beneath  its  broad  leaves. 

The  blue  flowers  with  their  many  shades  of  purple, 
lavender,  violet,  are  in  their  glory.  The  Flag  waves 
her  banner  at  the  edge  of  pond  and  brook,  reminding 
us  that  the  flowers  appear  on  the  water  as  well  as  on 
the  earth.  The  Judas  tree,  with  its  pinkish  blossoms, 
shows  bright  in  the  leafless  clumps  of  shrubbery.  The 
Polonia  has  put  forth  its  huge  clusters  of  heavy-scented 
cup-shaped  blossoms,  a  strange  sight  indeed,  a  great 
forest  tree  decked  from  top  to  lowest  bough  with  purple 
flowers.  Yet  the  stately  trunks  of  the  grenadier  Tulip 
Poplar  will  soon  bear  up  even  a  nobler  bloom. 

Then  there  is  the  Lilac',  sweet,  old-fashioned  flower, 
that  loves  the  precinct  of  home,  and  rears  its  lavender 
blooms  above  its  heart-shaped  leaves,  filling  the  air  with 
a  fragrance  that  calls  up  childhood's  days.  Shall  we  for- 
get the  Violet,  the  sweet  social  flower,  whose  beds  and 
banks  furnish  exhaustless  nosegays  for  the  children's 
pink'  fingers?  We  must  name  at  least  one  more,  the 
majestic  Wisteria  (or  shall  we  say  Wistaria?),  the  queen 
of  flowering  vines,  embowering  the  porch,  draping  the 
windows,  swinging  from  the  very  eaves  of  the  roof, 
hanging  thick  with  purple  bunches  as  big  as  grapes  of 
Eshcol.  It  is  a  rare  sight;  worth  crossing  an  ocean  to 
see,  as  it  grows  here  in  our  West  Philadelphia,  decked 
in  its  May  glory! 

Such  a  scene  as  this,  even  more  brilliant  with  the 
lovely  jewels  of  the  field,  must  Solomon  have  witnessed 
when  spring  opened  upon  the  valleys  and  hill-slopes  of 
his    native    land.      Flowers    grow    in    great    variety  and 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  FLOWERS.  299 

abundance  in  Palestine,  and  from  the  month  of  January 
to  May  the  groves  and  meadows  are  adorned  with  the 
blossoms  of  many  different  species  of  wild  plants. 
There  one  finds  the  flora  of  the  tropics,  and  there  the 
sweeter  familiar  plants  of  our  own  temperate  zones. 
Some  of  those  flowers  that  appeared  on  the  earth  to 
Israel's  king,  and  were  marked  by  the  eye  of  Him  whose 
glory  exceeded  that  of  Solomon,  are  among  the  well- 
loved  familiars  of  our  own  gardens.  There  were  the 
anemone,  crocus,  tulip,  hyacinth,  wind-flower,  narcissus, 
lily,  violet,  aster,  pink,  iris,  daffodil,  crow-foot,  dragon 
wort,  periwinkle,  veronica,  white  clover,  hollyhock,  and 
a  multitude  of  others  which  one  need  not  stop  to  name, 
but  which  perfume  the  air  to-day  as  in  the  days  of  the 
patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  give  lovely  prospect  to  the 
landscape.* 

I.  We  learn  first  the  Constancy  of  Divine  Power  in 
protecting  and  preserving  the  Beautiful  and  Good. 

"  The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth."  There  is  some- 
thing inexpressibly  touching  in  the  thought  that  through 
the  ages  of  the  past,  summer  and  winter  have  come  and 
gone,  and  inevitably  with  the  bursting  forth  of  Spring 
have  come  back  to  us  the  old  familiar  faces  of  the  sweet 
plants  that  our  childhood  knew.  It  was  a  part  of  the 
divine  constitution  of  things,  as  we  read  in  the  book  of 
Genesis,  that  the  earth  should  bring  forth  grass,  the  herb 
yielding  seed  and  the  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit  after  his 
kind,  whose  seed  is  in  itself,  f  This  primal  law  of  plant 
life  has  never  been  broken.  No  one  knows  how  long 
flowers  have  been  appearing  upon  the  earth  in  succes- 
sive returns  of  the  seasons,  but  we  do  know  that  as  often 
as  they  may  have  come  back,  they  came  the  same  as 
when  they  left.  Spring  found  them  where  Winter  laid 
them.  The  sweet  fancy  of  the  poet  is  approved  as  a 
veritable  fact  in  the  clear  light  of  science : — 

But  cheerful  and  unchanged  the  while 
Your  first  and  perfect  form  ye  show, 

The  same  that  won  Eve's  matron  smile 
In  the  world's  opening  glow. % 

*  McClintock  &  Strong — "Flowers."    fGen.i.  ir.    |Keble. 


300  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

This  is  true  within  the  historic  period.  The  whole 
world  of  Sunday-school  teachers  and  scholars  is  now* 
passing  through  a  series  of  lessons  which  present  to  us 
the  life  of  the  Pharaohs  of  Egypt  and  their  oppressed 
bondsmen,  the  Hebrews.  We  have  been  deeply  inter- 
ested in  that  triumph  of  modern  archaeology  and  photo- 
graphic science  which  presents  to  us  the  figures  of  the 
mummies  of  Seti  I.  and  Rameses  II.,  the  Pharaohs  dur- 
ing whose  sovereignty  the  hapless  babes  of  the  Jews 
were  murdered,  and  the  infant  Moses  was  born  and  reared 
to  manhood.  But  there  is  a  fact  incidental  to  the  dis- 
covery of  these  and  other  mummies  with  which  few  of 
the  public  are  acquainted,  they  have  afforded  botanists 
an  opportunity  to  compare  the  plant  life  of  the  Mosaic 
period  with  the  plant  life  of  this  day.  Within  the 
mummy-wrappings  have  been  found  no  less  than  fifty- 
nine  species. f  Some  of  these  are  represented  by  the 
fruits  employed  as  offerings  to  the  dead,  others  by  the 
flowers  and  leaves  made  into  garlands,  and  the  remainder 
by  the  branches  on  which  the  body  was  laid  out  during 
or  after  embalmment,  and  which  were  enclosed  with  the 
offerings  within  the  linen  wrappings  that  enveloped  the 
mummy.  These  plant  remains  were  hermetically  sealed 
within  the  wrappings,  and  thus,  according  to  Mr.  William 
-Carruthers  of  the  British  Museum,  have  been  preserved 
with  scarcely  any  change.J  By  placing  the  plants  in  warm 
water  a  series  of  specimens  was  obtained  which,  although 
gathered  four  thousand  years  ago,  are  as  satisfactory  for 
the  purposes  of  science  as  any  collected  at  the  present 
day.  These  specimens  consequently  supply  means  for  the 
closest  examination  and  comparison  with  their  living  rep- 
resentatives. The  colors  of  the  flowers  are  still  present, 
even  the  most  evanescent,  such  as  the  violet  of  the  lark- 
spur and  knap-weed  and  the  scarlet  of  the  poppy.  The 
chlorophyl  remains  in  the  leaves,  and  the  sugar  in  the 
pulp  of  the  raisins.  It  is  difficult,  says  Mr.  Carruthers, 
without   actual    inspection    of  the    specimens   of  plants 


May,  1887.  t  Determined  bv  Dr.  Schweinfurth.  t  Address  to 
the  Biological  Section  of  the  British  Association,  Birmingham, 
[886,  by  William  Carruthers,  President  of  the  Section,  Pres.  Lin- 
naean  Society,  &c. 


THE  BIR  TH  OF  THE  EL  O II ERS.  30 1 

employed  as  garlands,  to  realize  the  wonderful  condition 
of  preservation  in  which  they  are.  These  specimens  con- 
sequently supply  means  for  the  closest  examination  and 
comparison  with  their  living  representatives.  Thus  ex- 
amined and  compared,  their  absolute  identity  with  the 
present  indigenous  forms  of  the  species  represented  is 
demonstrated  in  the  clearest  manner.  With  scarce  an 
exception  the  most  learned  botanists  have  not  been  able 
to  detect  any  peculiarity  in  the  living  plants  which  is 
absent  in  those  obtained  from  the  tombs.  Thus  through 
four  thousand  years,  since  Seti  I.  decreed  the  slaughter 
of  the  Hebrew  babes,  and  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh, 
Thermuthis,  preserved  the  infant  Moses  from  the  waters 
of  the  Nile,  these  flowers  and  vines,  trees  and  plants  of 
Egypt  have  fallen  with  every  winter's  decay,  and  at  the 
coniing  of  Spring  have  appeared  on  the  earth  again 
bearing  the  same  form,  features  and  color  that  they 
carried  to  their  season-sleep. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  hand  of  geology  has  turned  over  - 
the  pages  of  Natural  History  far  back  of  the  period  of 
Seti,  Rameses  and  Moses,  so  far  back  that  one  may 
scarcely  venture  to  estimate  the  age.  Reading  from  these 
uncovered  pages  the  paleo-botanist  declares  that  Since 
the  glacial  epoch  at  least,  say  a  quarter-million  years,  no 
appreciable  change  has  taken  place.  It  is  still  an  estab- 
lished axiom  with  botanists  that  "species  must  be  dealt 
with  as  fixed  quantities."  *  In  our  own  country  we  are 
enabled  to  read  the  story  of  plant  life  from  a  period  of 
the  Tertiary  as  far  back  at  least  as  the  Oligocene.  Le- 
quereux  identifies  as  among  the  plants  found  in  the 
fossil-yielding  strata,  hickories,  oaks,  birches,  poplars, 
willows,  elms,  cedars,  wild  roses,  sumac,  alders,  ferns, 
catalpa  and  bignonia.  These  grew  in  the  woods  of  that 
ancient  period  precisely  as  they  do  in  our  own  forests; 
and  in  the  lagoons  and  ponds  of  the  Tertiary  the  blooms 
of  water  lilies  and  the  blossoms  of  grasses,  reeds  and 
iris  showed  precisely  as  they  do  to-day  in  the  ponds  of 
New  Jersey  and  the  lagoons  of  the  South.f     Thus  the 

*  Carruthers.  t  Lequereux— ' '  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  of  the 
Territories,  Vol.  VII.,  1878  ;  Tertian'  Flora."  See  for  illustrations 
the  Coal  Flora  Atlas  of  the  Second  Geological  Survey  of  Pennsyl- 


302  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

law  impressed  by  the  Creator's  hand  upon  plant  life,  to 
"  bring  forth  seed  after  its  kind,"  is  proved  to  have  been 
in  all  these  years  in  active  operation.  The  plants  and 
flowers  have  appeared  and  disappeared  with  the  season- 
changes,  while  the  ages  have  come  and  gone.  There  is 
an  obvious  bearing  of  these  facts  upon  the  theory  of 
evolution,  but  we  are  now  looking  to  them  for  illustra- 
tions of  spiritual  truths. 

What  lesson  do  they  suggest  ?  Surely  we  will  not 
forget  that  the  Lord  himself  has  compared  the  holy  in- 
fluences of  the  gospel  to  the  seed  which  is  cast  into  the 
ground.  He  who  scatters  that  seed  may  be  assured  that 
the  hand  of  God  will  care  for  his  influence  and  works 
throughout  all  ages.  Good  deeds  are  the  flowers  of 
human  life.  The  law  of  heredity  is  operative  upon 
them  also.  Seasons  shall  come  and  go,  the  years  shall 
wax  and  wane,  centuries  and  generations  shall  pass,  but 
the  good  that  men  have  done  shall  spring  Up  anew  with 
the  new-coming  lives  of  the  new  ages,  and  shall  perpe- 
tuate for  good  man's  work  in  this  world,  aye,  and  in  the 
next.  The  power  of  an  endless  life  is  in  every  honest 
effort  for  good.  This  is  an  immortality  which  all  may 
covet, — the  immortality  of  holy  living  and  useful  deeds. 
With  what  hope  and  joy  should  we  commit  our  labors, 
wrought  in  love  and  fear  of  God,  to  the  keeping  of  the 
future,  knowing  that  He  who  "  is  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day  and  forever,"  will  see  to  it  that  the  holy  seed 
shall  never  cease  to  find  a  lodgment  and  growth  among 
the  children  of  the  earth.  The  frosts  of  winter,  the  fret 
of  time,  the  storms,  floods  and  convulsions  of  earth, — 
all  social  changes  and  all  assaults  of  Satan  shall  vainly 
seek  to  quench  this  influence  from  the  world.  For  a 
little  while  indeed  adverse  forces  may  seem  to  succeed; 
for  a  little  while  winter  may  hide  away  the  seeds,  may 
cut  down  the  stalks  to  the  very  bulb  or  root;  but  God's 
hands  shall  wheel  on  the  course  of  time,  and  when  the 
ages  shall  have  ripened,  the  old  Song  of  Solomon  shall 
be  heard  again  upon  the  air  of  spring;  "  The  winter  is 
past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone,  the  flowers  appear  on  the 
earth!"  "In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the 
evening  withhold  not  thine  hand,  for  thou  knowest  not 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  FLOWERS.  303 

which  shall  prosper,  whether  this  or  that."*     "In  due 
season  ye  shall  reap  if  ye  faint  not."f 

"Sow  thy  seed."  Yes,  remember  that  it  is  seed  that 
you  are  sowing,  and  that  it  is  the  seed  which  contains 
the  principle  of  life,  by  virtue  of  which  the  flowers  ap- 
pear on  the  earth.  Diamonds  are  beautiful,  certainly. 
Diamonds  are  valuable,  certainly;  but,  Christian  friends, 
we  sow  seeds — not  diamonds — that  which  is  to  grow  and 
bear  fruit  it  may  be  an  hundred  fold.  The  glitter  and 
polish  of  rhetoric  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  pulpit  and 
Sunday-school,  but  he  who  comes  to  these  spots  where 
furrows  of  virgin  soil  await  the  sower,  with  no  seed, 
fails  utterly.  A  jeweled  hand  may  scatter  seeds.  But  a 
hand  that  scatters  jewels  without  the  seeds  has  no  place 
in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 

II.  Nor  let  it  be  forgotten  that  there  are  other  seeds 
scattered  through  this  world  of  ours  than  seeds  of  holi- 
ness and  faith.     Evil  as  well  as  good  is  a  constant  quan-' 
tity. 

Our  blessed  Saviour  has  taught  us  how  the  enemy 
comes  while  we  sleep,  and  sows  "tares"  among  the 
"wheat."|  As  ^ar  back  as  the  thought  of  science  can 
go  upon  the  sure  roadway  of  observation,  it  declares  it 
to  be  true  that  the  tares  and  goodly  grain  have  sprung 
up  and  grown  together.  The  same  weeds  that  trouble 
tillers  of  the  soil  in  Egypt  to-day  were  the  pests  of  their 
ancestors  in  those  old  times  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking,  forty  and  fifty  centuries  ago.  Grains  of  barley 
and  wheat  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  tombs.  M. 
Mariette  found  barley  in  a  grave  of  the  fifth  dynasty,  at 
Sakhara,  five  thousand  four  hundred  years  old.  The 
fields  of  barley  then  were  infested  by  a  weed  known  as 
the  Spiny  Medick.§  Another  of  the  Egyptian  tares  found 
among  the  mummies  is  the  Charlock, ||  better  known 
among  us  as  the  wild  mustard.  It  infests  the  flax  crop, 
and  there  is  scarce  a  field  in  Egypt  where  it  may  not  be 
found  to-day,  and  often  in  such  quantity  that  its  yellow 

'*Eccl.  xi.  6.     fGal.  vi.  9.     %  Matt.  xiii.  25.     \  Medicago  denticu- 
lata.     ||  Sinapis  arvensis,  var.  allionii. 


304  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

flowers,  just  before  the  flax  comes  into  bloom,  present 
the  appearance  of  a  crop  of  mustard.*.  Thus  the  vigor  of 
evil,  tested  by  its  endurance,  is  quite  equal  to  that  of 
the  good. 

That  vigor  is  also  seen  in  the  power  of  weeds  to  dis- 
seminate themselves  with  great  rapidity  under  adverse 
circumstances.  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  found  the  familiar 
English  weed  known  as  Shepherd's  Purse,  itself  a  colo- 
nist from  Central  Asia,  growing  abundantly  on  a  solita- 
ry Antarctic  islet. f  Wondering  greatly  how  it  could 
have  gotten  there,  he  traced  it  finally  to  the  grave  of  a 
sailor,  around  which  the  intrusive  little  plant  flourished 
luxuriously,  and  from  which,  as  a  centre,  it  had  evi- 
dently distributed  itself  over  the  island.  How  came  the 
plant  within  the  soil  of  that  English  sailor's  grave  ?  The 
spade  with  which  the  grave  was  dug  had  been  used  to 
dig  in  English  soil,  and  a  single  seed  of  Shepherd's 
Purse,  clinging  to  particles  of  earth  upon'  the  spade, 
dropped  off  and  mingled  with  the  Antarctic  soil  of  that 
burial  mound,  and  grew  and  spread  until  the  all-encom- 
passing sea  checked  its  career  of  conquest. 

It  is  not  a  pleasant  reflection  for  us  that  evil  influen- 
ces, like  these  tares  of  ancient  Egypt  and  the  weeds  that 
grow  among  our  garden  plants,  have  staying  qualities 
quite  as  vigorous  as  those  of  lovely  flowers  and  use- 
ful plants.  But  it  is  a  wholesome  thought,  and  one 
which  never  should  drop  away  from  our  minds;  for  it 
points  to  a  fact  which  we  are  daily  called  upon  to  face, 
and  upon  which,  in  all  our  efforts  to  overcome  evil  in 
our  own  hearts  and  subdue  sin  in  the  world,  we  should 
calculate  with  unfailing  accuracy.  The  evil  and  the 
good,  the  tares  and  the  wheat,  the  flowers  and  the  weeds 
shall  grow  together  until  the  day  of  judgment.  So  our 
Saviour  teaches,  and  it  will  not  do  for  us  to  forget  the 
teaching  lest  we  relax  our  vigilance  in  watching  and  our 
diligence  in  laboring  to  preserve  the  world  from  the  in- 
coming and  growth  of  those  hurtful  principles  which 
thwart  all  holy  effort,  and  must  surely  destroy  those  over 
whom  they  obtain  the  power. 

*Carruthers — " Address  to   Biological  Section  Brit  Assri." 

f  Grant  Allen — "Collin  Clout's  Callendar,"  page  12. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  FLOWERS.  305 

III.  We  have  thus  far  been  drawing  comfort  and  in- 
struction from  the  fact  that  God  shall  preserve  our  influ- 
ence and  works.  Let  us  remember  that  this  includes 
the  Source  of  Work  and  Influence — Ourselves. 

One  of  th#  most  familiar  of  the  lessons  which  Jesus 
taught  the  world  is  the  duty  of  absolute  trust  in  God  as 
drawn  from  the  flowers.  "  Consider  the  lilies,"  He  said, 
"  how  they  grow :  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin ; 
yet  I  say  unto  you,  Even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  But  if  God  doth  so  clothe 
the  grass  in  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is 
cast  into  the  oven ;  how  much  more  shall  he  clothe  you, 
O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  *  *  *  Fear  not,  little  flock  ; 
for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom."* 

One  day  the  well-known  missionary  Fidelia  Fisk  was 
instructing  a  class  of  pagan  women.  She  was  compelled 
by  the  customs  of  the  country  to  occupy  a  sitting  posture 
on  the  floor  without  that  support  of  body  and  back  so- 
grateful  to  women  afforded  by  our  comfortable  chairs. 
A  heathen  convert  present,  noticing  that  her  teacher  was 
greatly  fatigued  by  the  day's,  hard  work,  left  the  circle  of 
hearers  and  sat  down  behind  her,  placing  her  back  to 
Miss  Fisk's  back.  The  missionary  lady  recognized  the 
kindness  and  timeliness  of  the  act,  and  leaned  gently 
against  her  dusky  friend  ;  but  this  did  not  satisfy. 

"  No  !  No  !  "  said  the  convert,  "  if  you  love  me,  lean 
hard,  lean  hard." 

I  think  I  can  hear  the  voice  as  of  our  Heavenly  Re- 
deemer saying  to  every  weak  and  weary  soul,  timid, 
doubting,  fearful,  and  longing,  "  if  you  love  Me,  lean 
hard."  "  Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord."  Cast  thyself  on 
the  Lord.     Do  not  fear  to  rest  thyself  fully  upon  Him ! 

He  will  comfort  and  keep  thee, 
He  will  carry  thee  through. 

This  lesson  of  untroubled  trust  in  God  every  opened 
flower  of  Spring  teaches  human  hearts.  If  God  lavishes 
such  ceaseless  wealth  of  care  upon  a  flower,  what  may  He 
not,  what  will  He  not  do  for  His  own  immortal  children  ? 

*  Luke  xii.  27-33. 


306  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Sweet  nurslings  of  the  vernal  skies, 
Bathed  in  soft  airs,  and  fed  with  dew, 

What  more  than  magic  in  you  lie's, 
To  (ill  the  heart's  fond  view? 

In  childhood's  sports,  companions  gay, 

In  sorrow,  on  Life's  downward  way, 

How  soothing  !  in  our  last  decay 

Memorials  prompt  and  true. 
*****  * 

Ye  felt  your  Maker's  smile  that  hour, 
As  when  lie  paused  and  owned  you  good ; 

I  lis  blessing  on  earth's  primal  bower, 
Ye  felt  it  all  renewed. 

What  care  ye  now,  if  winter's  storm 

Sweep  ruthless  o'er  each  silken  form  ? 

Christ's  blessing  at  your  heart  is  warm, 
Ye  fear  no  vexing  mood. 

Alas  !  of  thousand  bosoms  kind, 

That  daily  court  you  and  caress, 
•     How  few  the  happy  secret  find 

Of  your  calm  loveliness  ! 
Live  for  to-day  !    to-morrow's  light 
Tomorrow's  care  shall  bring  to  sight, 
Go  sleep  like  closing  flowers  at  night, 

And  Heaven  thy  morn  will  bless.* 

Consider  the  lilies,  how  tJicy  grow  /  We  have  consid- 
ered, and  have  learned  that  back  in  those  far  ages  of  the 
Tertiary,  the  lilies  were  growing  in  ponds  and  lagoons 
just  as  they  do  now ;  that  therefore  their  life  and  the 
lives  of  their  companion  flowers  of  fields,  forests  and 
waters  have  been  held  here  countless  ages  in  perpetual 
life  by  the  hand  of  God.  Frail,  perishing  things  of  a 
day!  Yet  thus  has  God  carried  their  life  unquenched 
amidst  the  convulsions  of  ages  and  birth-throes  of  con- 
tinents. He  promises  thus  to  carry  you,  O  soul  of 
man!  Surely  he  will  fulfill  his  promise.  Trust  Him, 
trust  Him  implicitly!  Trust  Him  and  doubt  not,  but 
keep  with  you  through  life  and  to  the  very  portals  of 
opening  eternity  the  joyful  confidence  that  He  will  hold 
your  soul  securely  and  perpetuate  it  with  the  immortal- 
it}'  of  the  blessed  in  the  gardens  of  your  God.  The 
flower  of  our  mortal  form  shall  indeed  decay,  btit  the 
life  of  the  spirit  runs  on  with  an  immortality  far  outlast- 
ing that  of  forest  growth  or  garden  bloom.     God  has 

*Keblk— "The  Christian  Year."      15th  Sunday  after  Trinity. 


THE  BIRTH  OF  THE  FLOWERS.  307 

guaranteed  this,  and  His  word  shall  be  made  good. 
"  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth,  but  the  word  of 
our  God  shall  stand  forever."* 

I  was  driving  once  along  the  margin  of  a  flooded 
stream  and  was  stopped  at  a  point  where  the  road  for 
many  rods  was  overflowed.  "  Can  we  go  on?"  I  asked 
of  a  neighbor.  "Yes,  drive  forward,  it  is  not  deep.  The 
road  is  safe !"  And  though  no  road  was  in  sight,  noth- 
ing but  the  broad  expanse  of  turgid  water,  I  drove  on 
and  reached  the  other  side  in  safety.  A  good  lesson, 
I  said ;  and  bethought  me  of  Whittier's  lines, 

Nothing  before,  nothing  behind ; 

The  steps  of  Faith 
Fall  on  the  seeming  void,  and  find 

The  rock  beneath.! 

Thus  is  it  often  in  the  affairs  of  this  life.  Thus  is  it 
always  when  our  footsteps  draw  near  the  brink  of  that 
river  of  death  which  divides  between  us  and  the  shore 
of  the  Heavenly  Canaan.  Pathless,  dark,  intangible, 
shoreless  seems  the  stream,  and  the  waters  cold  as  win- 
ter ;  but  the  Rock  of  Ages  bridges  the  way,  and  beyond 
the  Flowers  appear ! 

*  Isa.  xi.  8.     f  "  My  Soul  and  I. ' ' 


LECTURE    XVII. 


Beautiful  Flowers  and 
Tender  Grapes. 

"Whose  glorious   beauty   is    a  fading  flower." 
Isaiah  xxviii.  i. 

"The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth; 

***** 
The  jig  tree  ripeneth  her  green  figs, 
And  the  vines  are  in  blossom, 
They  give  forth  their  fragrance. ' ' 

Song  of  Solomon  ii.   12,   13. 


BEAUTIFUL   FLOWERS  AND   TENDER 
GRAPES. 


Flowers  have  always  been  associated  in  the  human 
mind  with  beauty.  They  are  emblems  and  expressions 
of  a  sense  of  the  beautiful,  not  only  in  man,  but  in  the 
universe.  We  have  an  apt  illustration  of  this  in  our 
Saviour's  remark  concerning  the  lilies  of  the  field,  "that 
even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one 
of  these."  *  He  who  looks  upon  Nature  with  a  careful 
eye,  and  observes  such  constant  regard  to  that  harmony 
and  arrangement  of  form,  color  and  function  which  re- 
sults in  what  we  call  beauty,  is  compelled  to  find  some 
reason  for  this  effect.  Jesus,  in  the  passage  just  quoted, 
plainly  asserts  that  the  beautiful  clothing  of  the  flowers 
is  wrought  by  God,  and  clearly  implies  that  this  beauty 
"  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven," 
has  some  cause  higher  than  can  be  explained  by  their 
limited  life  and  ephemeral  destiny. 

Mr.  Darwin,  and  many  others  following  him,  have 
been  able  to  trace  some  relation  between  beauty  and 
utility.  They  have  attempted  to  show  that  the  beauty 
of  animals  and  plants  performs  a  very  important  part  in 
securing  protection  to  the  individual  or  propagation  of 
the  species,  and  that  it  has  probably  been  developed 
through  such  usefulness.  We  need  not  scruple  to  allow 
at  least  a  modicum  of  truth  within  these  speculations. 
But  there  must  always  remain  the  conclusion  that  the 
fact  of  beauty  in  the  creature  implies  a  sense  of  beauty 
in  the  creative  Force;  and  further,  the  sense  of  beauty 
implies  a  Personal  Force,  a  Mind,  as  the  source  of  such 
sentiment.  It  is  foreign  to  our  present  purpose  to  con- 
sider the  argument  for  the  being  and  personality  of  God 
which  is  readily  deducible,  along  this  line  of  reasoning, 
from  the  beautiful  flowers  and  all  other  lovely  things  in 

*  Matt.  vi.  29. 

(311) 


3  1 2  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

this  world  of  ours.  We  must  be  content  simply  to  pre- 
sent the  thought,  and  express  the  conviction  that  beauty 
in  flowers  or  elsewhere  is  an  inevitable  expression  of  the 
character  of  the  Creator,  reflecting  that  Taste  which 
dwells  in  infinite  perfection  within  the  Divine ;  and 
moreover,  that  apart  from  all  bare  utility,  it  has  a  higher 
purpose  within  itself,  namely,  to  contribute  to  the  happi- 
ness and  holiness  of  men. 

God  might  have  bade  the  earth  bring  forth 

Enough  for  gre;it  and  small, 
The  oak.  tree  and  the  cedar  tree, 

Without  a  flower  at  all. 
We  might  have  had  enough,  enough, 

For  every  want  of  ours, 
For  luxury,  medicine,  and  toil, 

And  yet  have  had  no  flowers. 

Then  wherefore,  wherefore  were  they  made, 

All  dyed  with  rainbow-light, 
All  fashioned  with  supremest  grace, 

Upspringing  day  and  night  : — 
Springing  in  valleys  green  and  low, 

And  on  the  mountains  high, 
And  in  the  silent  wilderness 

Where  no  man  passes  by  ? 

Our  outward  life  requires  them  not, — 

Then  wherefore  had  they  birth  ? — 
To  minister  delight  to  man, 

To  beautify  the  earth.* 

I.  The  first  lesson  which  invites  your  attention  is  that 
the  spirit  of  Christianity  compels  Alliance  between  all 
Physical  and  Moral  Beauty. 

Of  the  two  splendid  columns  that  stood  at  the  gate- 
way of  Solomon's  temple  named  Jachin  and  Boaz  it  is 
written  that  on  the  tops  of  the  pillars  was  lily-work. f 
This  was  the  objective  presentation  of  a  fact  elsewhere 
declared  that  "  Strength  and  beauty  are  in  his  sanctu- 
ary." J  And  again,  "Out  of  Zion,  the  perfection  of 
beauty,  God  hath  shined."§  The  beauty  and  strength 
of  the  Church  has  always  been  and  ever  must  be  its  ho- 
liness.    The  familiar  phrase  "the  beauty  of  holiness " 

Mary  Howitt— "The  Use  of  Flowers."     fl.  Kings  vii.  22. 
X  Ps.  xcvi.  6.     \  Ps.  1.  2. 


BEA  UTIFUL  FL O  WERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    3 1 3 

well  expresses  this  conviction  as  it  has  dwelt  in  the  heart 
of  the  Catholic  Church. 

There  is  profound  need  in  this  age  that  these  ideas 
should  be  kept  closely  associated.  Every  one  who  has 
followed  the  trend  of  some  of  the  leading  minds  and 
philosophic  speculations  of  our  time  must  have  seen  how 
strong  is  the  tendency  to  a  wide  breach  between  the  two. 
Beauty,  say  these  thinkers,  is  a  matter  by  itself;  holiness 
or  personal  purity  or  morals  have  no  necessary  connec- 
tion therewith. 

There  is  a  strain  in  modern  thought  as  foul  as  any  in 
ancient  Athens,  Pompeii  or  Rome.  Men  conceal  it  from 
view  or  smother  it  under  the  name  "  ^Estheticism."  By 
whatever  name,  its  odor  is  quite  as  ill.  Modern  aesthet- 
icism  may  be  described  as  demanding  from  art,  litera- 
ture, architecture  only  a  perfect  form  without  regard  to 
the  inner  life  of  the  heart, — its  spiritual  purpose  and 
thought.  It  declares  that  no  matter  how  false  and  un- 
clean may  be  the  thought  of  the  poem  or  painting  if  it 
be  only  artistically  perfect,  and  true  to  nature,  it  has  ful- 
filled its  destiny.  It  exalts  beauty  of  mode  irrespective 
of  morals.  It  makes  the  beauty  of  form  perfect  and 
chief,  and  the  beauty  of  holiness  it  belittles  or  denies.  I 
do  not  say  that  this  is  all  of  modern  aestheticism,  but  it 
is  much  of  it,  and  the  evil  is  more  widely  spread  and 
deeply  rooted  than  you  suppose.  Shall  it  prevail  ? 
Not  if  the  Church  and  the  world  will  bend  a  serious 
ear  to  the  heavenly  message.  The  whole  thinking  of 
Christianity  has  in  the  past  gained  victories  most  con- 
spicuous. In  the  future  it  shall  not  deceive  our  hopes. 
It  triumphed  over  the  art  and  architecture  of  pagan- 
ism. 

I  say  nothing  of  the  positively  immoral,  but  speak  of 
the  negative  features  thereof.  The  sculpture  of  Rome 
and  Greece  was  a  glorification  and  expression  of  form, 
the  utterance  of  mere  beauty  of  the  body,  female  loveli- 
ness, manly  strength.  The  Venus  de  Medici,  Apollo 
Belvidere,  and  the  Dying  Gladiator  are  the  best  ex- 
amples of  pagan  art.  And  what  is  the  underlying  pur- 
pose of  Christian  art?  Americans  cross  the  ocean  in 
multitudes   to   behold    the    gothic    temples   of  Europe. 


314  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

They  gaze  upon  carvings  in  stone,  paintings  upon  glass, 
creations  of  the  brush  that  adorn  church  walls,  and  see 
everywhere  the  ideas  of  true  Holiness  which  were 
brought  by  the  Gospel  of  Christ  into  the  world.  The 
lives  of  the  apostles,  prophets,  and  holy  martyrs  are  cel- 
ebrated therein,  and  above  all,  the  life  of  Christ  Himself. 
It  is  man  that  is  glorified,  but  not  physical  man, — it  is  man 
the  spiritual  being,  who  by  attainments  in  holy  living  and 
by  service  of  humanity  rises  above  the  attractions  of  the 
world,  the  temptations  of  avarice  and  ambition,  the  lusts 
of  the  flesh.  Thus  art  in  painting  and  in  its  sublimest 
forms,  architecture  and  sculpture,  speaks  throughout 
Christendom  of  the  glory  of  the  New  Life,  the  exalted 
thoughts  of  Jesus,  the  blessedness  which  He  brought 
to  man.  There  are  excrescences  upon  this  art,  survi- 
vals of  paganism,  monstrosities  that  belonged  to  the  ig- 
norance and  superstitions  of  the  times,  but  the  ideas  are 
there,  and  they  are  worthy,  grand,  soul-uplifting,  man- 
transforming,  Christ-honoring.  Holiness  dominated  the 
thinking  of  men  and  triumphed  over  mere  sensualism, 
however  accurately  expressed.  Thus  the  aestheticism  of 
ancient  paganism  yielded  before  Christian  thought  as  it 
was  expressed  in  art.     May  it  ever  be  so  ! 

Let  me  quote  here  for  its  close  bearing  upon  our  sub- 
ject from  the  last  words  publicly  uttered  by  the  late  Sid- 
ney Lanier.  "  Wherever  there  is  contest,  as  between  ar- 
tistic and  moral  beauty,  unless  the  moral  side  prevail, 
all  is  lost.  Let  any  sculptor  hew  us  out  the  most  rav- 
ishing combination  of  tender  curves  and  spheric  softness 
that  ever  stood  for  woman,  yet  if  the  lip  have  a  certain 
fullness  that  hints  of  the  flesh,  if  the  brow  be  insincere, 
if,  in  the  minutest  particular,  the  physical  beauty  sug- 
gest a  moral  ugliness,  that  sculptor,  unless  he  be  por- 
traying moral  ugliness  for  a  moral  purpose,  may  as  well 
give  over  his  marble  for  paving  stones.  Time,  whose 
judgments  are  inexorably  moral,  will  not  accept  this 
work.  For,  indeed,  we  may  say  that  he  who  has  not 
yet  perceived  how  artistic  beauty  and  moral  beauty  are 
convergent  lines,  which  run  back  into  a  common  ideal 
origin,  and  who,  therefore,  is  not  afire  with  moral  beauty 
just  as  with  artistic  beauty ;  that  he,  in  short,  who  has 


BE  A  UTIFUL  FLO  WERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    3  1 5 

not  come  to  that  stage  of  quiet  and  eternal  frenzy  in 
which  the  beauty  of  holiness  and  the  holiness  of  beauty 
mean  one  thing,  burn  as  one  fire,  shine  as  one  light, 
within  him  is  not  yet  the  great  Artist."* 

In  reply  to  the  saying  that  art  is  the  work  of  man, 
Nature  the  work  of  God,  Hegel  says  that  God  reveals 
Himself  in  man,  and  therefore  the  best  of  man's  works 
are  the  best  of  God's.  This  is  true.  The  holy  life,  the 
sublime  strength,  the  patient  endurance,  when  they  are 
objects  for  the  subjective  appreciation,  do  show  the  pos- 
sibilities of  God  rather  than  nature.  Art  does  not  reach 
this  height,  and  mere  genius  cannot  realize  these  in  art 
with  perfect  understanding  and  self-consistency.  No 
mere  artistic  work  could  draw  such  a  character  as  Jesus 
Christ,  and  there  is  more  in  the  saint  than  in  any  picture 
of  him  in  colors  or  words. f 

It  was  the  concrete  exhibition  of  ideal  human  loveli- 
ness in  Jesus  Christ  which  gave  men  a  deeper  sense  of 
sin,  taught  them  their  imperfections  and  the  conditions 
lor  their  ultimate  well-being,  which  clarified  and  cor- 
rected their  conception  of  the  highest,  which  caused  the 
new  ideal  of  their  own  possible  advancement  to  shine 
gloriously  out  of  the  mists,  and  gave  them  an  undoubt- 
ing  assurance  that  the  ultimate  hope  of  human  thought 
had  been  reached,  and  the  riddle  of  existence  solved. 

II.  There  is  another  point  which  may  be  considered 
in  this  connection.  We  have  been  thinking  that  the 
graces  of  life  represented  by  the  flowers  are  developed 
by  the  spirit  of  our  holy  religion.  Is  it  in  contradiction 
of  this  that  we  see  so  many  Graces  in  the  Lives  of 
Heathen  ? 

1.  We  admit  the  fact.  No  child  of  God  should  have 
a  disposition  to  derogate  from,  but  rather  exalt  and  ap- 
plaud all  that  is  good  among  the  pagan  nations,  and 
thank  God  that  so  much  of  the  original  bloom  has  sur- 
vived the  frosts  of  sin.  We  must  allow  that  Confucius, 
Buddha,  Zoroaster  and  Mohammed  may  bring  forth  and 

*  Lecture  delivered  before  John  Hopkins  University  in  April, 
1881.     t  Hegel's  "^Esthetics."  By  Professor  Kedney.  Page  51. 


316  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

rve  upon  the  life  of  their  disciples  the  graces  of 
artificial  culture;  but  only  Christ  Jesus  can  cover  the 
world  with  the  flowers  of  a  spiritual  springtide.  Hot- 
house flowers  are  comely,  but  their  loveliness  is  in  spite 
of  their  surroundings,  not  because  of  them.  Surely,  the 
systems  out  of  which  the  natural  graces  of  non-Christian 
nations  have  grown  are  not  suited  to  develop  graces  in 
the  whole  race.  What  we  see  in  China  or  India  is  not  the 
bloom  of  the  earth  under  a  spring  sun,  but  simply  a 
conservatory  bloom.  Like  the  flowers  and  buds  which 
the  florist  fastens  upon  wire  .stems  in  building  his  floral 
emblems  and  bouquets,  the  graces  of  philosophy  and 
natural  religion  have  no  vital  stalk  to  rest  upon.  But 
Christianity  brings  blossoms  whose  stems  are  united  to 
a  living  Vine,  to  the  Rose  of  Sharon  and  the  Lily  of  the 
Valley  ;  these  have  in  them  the  power  of  an  endless  life ; 
transplanted  to  another  sphere,  the  garden  of.  God,  they 
will  root  and  grow  and  bloom  forever. 

2.  This  seeming  contradiction  may  be  observed  in 
Christian  communities.  There  are  some  unregenerate 
people  who  have  very  many  graces.  Some  ungodly 
men  are  delightful  companions.  They  have  natures 
rich  in  attributes  which  exalt  humanity,  and  manners 
that  adorn  their  behavior  as  flowers  do  the  garden.  But 
we  must  iv>t  forget  that  much  of  this  beauty  is  due  to 
heredity,  to  the  reflex  influence  of  Christians,  and  the  di- 
rect influence  of  Christian  institutions.  Christ  has  left 
his  impress  upon  all  society.  The  distinction  has  been 
made,  and  in  some  measure  is  just,  that  the  Church  of 
J'-siis  includes  the  rate  of  God,  but  the  kingdom 

of  Christ  embraces  all  within  those  nations  wherein  the 
Church  has  been  established.  In  this  sense  these  lovely 
in  n  and  women,  though  unregenerate,  have  caught  and 
retain  upon  their  sensitive  natures  the  reflection,  aye,  the 
impress  of  Christian  ■  Yet  at  the  best,  it  must 

be  said  that  these  graces  are  artificial  ;  their  loveliness  is 
that  of  the  painter's  canvas  laid  upon  the  surface 
by  an  external  force,  not  like  that  of  the  flower,  a  pro- 
duct and  expression  of  an  inward  personal  life-force. 
One  may  find  a  most  perfect  exposition  of  this  truth   in 


BE  A  UTIFUL  FL  O  U  ERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    3  1 7 

the  thirteenth  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Co- 
rinthians. There  we  are  taught  that  one  may  have  outer 
adornment  of  the  goodliest  and  most  gracious  behavior, 
may  bestow  ail  his  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  may  even 
give  his  body  to  be  burned,  yet  lacking  Agape,  grace, 
charity,  love,  all  else  profiteth  nothing.  Here  we  see  the 
difference  between  the  graces  of  polite  society  and  true 
Christian  loveliness.  It  is  precisely  the  difference  be- 
tween natural  flowers,  the  growth  of  spring,  and  artificial 
flowers,  the  product  of  human  skill. 

3.  There  is  this  other  point  to  be  noted.  The  philos- 
ophy of  heathenism,  the  ethics  of  modern  unbelief,  the 
graces  of  society,  the  culture  of  art,  science,  and  litera- 
ture are  impracticable  as  forces  taken  by  themselves  for 
the  elevation  of  the  masses.  One  might  as  well  under- 
take to  adorn  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth  with  hot- 
house plants,  or  decorate  it  with  vases  of  artificial  flowers, 
as  to  open  up  upon  the  entire  life  of  humanity  the  graces 
of  a  Christian  civilization  simply  by  the  forces  known 
generally  under  the  word  culture.  There  is  but  one 
force  known  among  men  that  is  practicable  for  the  rescue 
of  our  race  from  the  unloveliness  and  misery  of  sin.  It 
is  the  force  of  the  Holy  Spirit  breathing  through  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  ever  the  fairest  graces  of 
humanity  are  to  mantle  the  whole  earth  it  shall  only  be 
when  the  Sun  of  Divine  righteousness  and  love  has  gir- 
dled the  race  with  quickening  rays  to  give  Divine  kind- 
ling within  every  human  heart  and  vitality  to  the  Gospel 
truth  which  comes  to  it.  Nothing  but  Christianity  can 
accomplish  this  result,  and  this  result  I  believe  Chris- 
tianity will  accomplish. 

4.  We  pass  from  these  general  to  individual  reflec- 
tions, to  your  own  experience  and  life.  The  heart  which 
is  renewed  in  the  image  of  Christ  must  set  forth  upon 
the  behavior  some  flowers  of  Christian  loveliness.  The 
true  Christian  has  in  him  necessarily  the  elements  of  a 
true  gentleman.  Read  some  of  the  precepts  of  our 
holy  faith.  Begin  with  the  Golden  Rule.  "  All  things, 
therefore,  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  unto 


3 1 S  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  rRE. 

you,  even  so  do  ye  also  unto  them."  "  In  lienor  pre- 
ferring one  another. "f  "  Be  pitiful,  be  courteous."} 
"  Being  reviled  we  bless.  "§  "  Tln>u  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself."  |  "Rejoice  with  them  that  rejoice; 
weep  with  them  that  weep."  \  "  Give  to  him  that  asketh 
thee.'  "  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him."tf  "  Us- 
ing  hospitality  one  towards  another."}}  "Forget  not 
to  show  love  unto  strangers."§§  "Love  suffereth  long, 
and  is  kind;  love  envieth  not;  love  vaunteth  not  it- 
self, is  not  puffed  up,  doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly, 
seeketh  not  its  own,  is  not  provoked,  taketh  not  account 
of  evil;  rejoiceth  not  in  unrighteousness,  but  rejoiceth 
with  the  truth  ;  beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things, 
endureth  all  thing  "  If  a  brother  or  sister  be  naked, 

and  in  lack  of  daily  food,  and  any  one  of  you  say  unto 
them,  Go  in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled  ;  and  yet 
give  them  not  the  things  needful  to  the  body ;  what  doth 
it  profit ?"Tffl  Let  us  sum  up  these  matchless  precepts. 
"  Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatso- 
ever things  are  honorable,  whatsoever  things  are  just, 
whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  love- 
ly, whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report;  if  there  be 
any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these 
things."*** 

These  are  some  of  the  precepts  of  our  divine  Lord  and 
his  inspired  apostles  intended  to  regulate  the  believer's 
faith.  The  very  reading  of  them  is  a  powerful  enforce- 
ment of  their  claim  to  emanate  from  a  Divine  Source. 
Can  you  find  such  rules  of  true  gentility  anywhere  in 
literature,  independent  of  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures?  I  dare  assert  that  such  cannot  be  found. 
These  are  flowers  that  appear  on  the  earth  when  regen- 
erated by  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  our  faith.  The 
tendency  of  Christianity  is  always  to  develop  these 
flowers  of  courtesy,  politeness,  genuine  goodness,  and 
unselfishness.  When  one  is  born  again  there  will  be 
some  show  of  these  -races.     No  matter  how  small  the 


^t.  vii.  12.  t  Rom.  xii.  i".  J  I.  Pet.  iii.  8.  \  I.  Cor.  iv. 
i2.  ||  Matt.  xix.  2o.  '  Rom.  xii.  15.  **Matt.  v.42.  ft  Rom. 
\ii.   20.      I  J  I.    P  \\  II'!).   xiii.   2.  I.  Cur.   xiii.  4-7. 

' '  fames  ii.  15,  16.    ***  Phil.  iv.  s. 


BEA  UTIFUL  FLO  WERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    3  1 9 

degree  of  faith  may  be,  no  matter  how  recent  the 
change, — the  flowers  will  certainly  appear  as  soon  as 
the  winter  is  past.  Up  among  the  glaciers  of  the  Alps, 
where  the  snow-line  verges  upon  the  spring,  laying  their 
bright  faces  against  the  very  borders  of  the  eternal 
snows,  one  sees  the  flowers.  Yes,  there  they  are,  gen- 
tians, veronicas,  forget-me-nots  lifting  their  blue  corols 
against  the  very  ice.  I  have  seen  the  like  on  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  where  the  flowers  creep  to  the  border  of  the 
snows  that  hang  upon  the  summits  throughout  the 
spring,  and  linger  even  in  the  heats  of  August.  There 
they  always  will  be,  wherever  there  is  the  faintest  stirring 
of  vegetable  life. 

Everywhere  about  us  are  they  glowing — 
Some,  like  stars,  to  tell  us  Spring  is  born  ; 

Others,  their  blue  eyes  with  tears  o'erflowing, 
Stand,  like  Ruth,  amid  the  golden  corn. 

Not  alone  in  Spring's  armorial  bearing,  _ 
And  in  Summer's  green-emblazoned  field, 

But  in  arms  of  brave  old  Autumn's  wearing, 
In  the  centre  of  his  brazen  shield ; 

Not  alone  in  meadows  and  green  alleys, 
On  the  mountain-top,  and  by  the  brink 

Of  sequestered  pools  in  woodland  valleys, 
Where  the  slaves  of  Nature  stoop  to  drink ; 

Not  alone  in  her  vast  dome  of  glory, 
Not  on  graves  of  bird  and  beast  alone, 

But  in  old  cathedrals,  high  and  hoary, 
On  the  tombs  of  heroes,  carved  in  stone. 

In  the  cottage  of  the  rudest  peasant ; 

In  ancestral  homes,  whose  crumbling  towers, 
Speaking  of  the  Past  unto  the  Present, 

Tell  us  of  the  ancient  Games  of  Flowers.* 

So  it  is  with  the  soul  renewed.  If  it  be  changed  at 
all  there  will  be  a  blossoming  out  of  virtues  and  graces. 
One  would  as  soon  think  of  May  without  flowers  as  a 
genuine  conversion  without  softening  of  the  manners, 
sweetening  of  look  and  tone  and  action.  The  remark 
of  Mr.  Whitfield,  I  believe  it  was,  is  only  another  way  of 

*  Henry Wadsworth  Longfellow— "Flowers." 


320  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

putting  the  same  truth:  "  I  have  little  confidence  in  the 
religion  of  a  man  who  is  not  made  thereby  more  kindly 
even  to  his  cat."  I  fear  that  some  persons  who  profess 
and  call  themselves  Christians,  and  who,  it  may  be  hoped, 
are  indeed  such,  are  fighting  against  the  very  power  that 
is  seeking  to  beautify  their  lives  because  they  have  mis- 
taken upon  this  point.  The  flowers  do  appear  in  their 
lives,  but  they  deliberately  pluck  them  up  and  cast  them 
away  as  altogether  contrary  to  a  manly  character  and 
true  Christian  walk. 

"  I  am  a  very  blunt  man  !  "  You  have  more  than  once, 
doubtless,  heard  that  utterance  as  a  sort  of  proud,  satis- 
factory and  sufficient  excuse  for  riding  rough-shod  over 
one's  sensibilities.  Or  you  have  heard  it  said,  "  I  must 
be  faithful!"  as  the  sufficient  reason  for  breaking  into 
the  garden  of  one's  heart  and  trampling  upon  every 
tenderest  sentiment  and  honorable  impulse.  Now,  I  am 
free  to  say  for  myself,  that  I  do  not  like  such  "  blunt  " 
people,  and  I  am  not  pleased  to  be  the  subject  of  such 
so-called  faithfulness. 

Never  was  there  a  more  faithful  man  to  the  souls  of 
men  than  St.  Paul,  and  yet  a  spirit  of  courtesy  and  tender 
persuasion  is  everywhere  manifest  in  his  words  and 
actions.  Who  was  so  faithful — who  can  be — as  the  Son 
of  Man  himself?  Yet  gentleness  and  sweetness,  the 
very  flowers  of  gentility,  goodness,  charity  and  com- 
passion, marked  his  earthly  career.  You  may  be  sure 
that  men  will  not  tolerate  your  so-called  bluntness  and 
faithfulness  when  they  show  conspicuously  the  absence 
of  kindness,  consideration  and  good  manners.  Seek- 
therefore  to  prove  by  the  beauty  of  your  character  and 
dealing,  that  Christianity  makes  men  better  in  every  re- 
spect. The  man  who  becomes  a  Christian  becomes 
more  truly  a  gentleman;  the  woman  who  becomes  a 
Christian  becomes  more  certainly  a  gentlewoman.  How 
can  it  be  otherwise  ?  When  the  winter  is  past  the  flowers 
must  appear  in  the  earth  ! 

I  do  not  forget  that  all  soils  are  not  equally  and  natu- 
rally adapted  to  flowers.  Some  have  to  be  made  over 
with  fresh  material,  and  worked  carefully  and 'long  be- 
fore the  sweet  blossoms  that  we  love   to  see  in  our  beds 


BEAUTIFUL  FLOWERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    X2 


21 


and  borders,  can  be  made  to  grow  within  them.  Such 
differences  appear  also  among  men.  Some  natures  are 
more  rugged  than  others,  less  adapted  to  the  graces  of 
life  and  better  fitted  for  the  rougher  work  which  some- 
times has  to  be  done  in  a  hard  and  wicked  world.  Yet, 
even  so  thinking,  I  do  not  recall  what  has  been  spoken, 
but  declare  that,  as  I  read  the  Gospels  of  Christ,  the 
result  is  well  worth  the  labor,  and  that  no  matter  how 
rugged  the  natural  disposition,  if  it  once  receive  the 
Gospel  with  a  true  spiritual  faith  it  will  inevitably  blos- 
som forth  with  some  graces  of  a  Christian  gentility.  Of 
this  one  maybe  well  assured,  there  is  no  life  so  poor  that 
the  flowers  of  grace  will  shun  it,  just  as  there  is  no  spot 
of  earth  wherein  the  flowers  of  the  field  may  not  be 
made  to  appear. 

III.  A  third  lesson  which  we  may  learn  from  the  ap- 
pearing of  the  flowers  is  that  the  best  Test  of  a  Change 
of  Heart  is  a  Change  of  Life. 

We  count  the  winter  months  to  be  December,  January 
and  February,  and  the  months  of  spring  we  name  March, 
April  and  May.  That  division  may  be  true  of  other 
lands  and  certain  sections  of  our  own  land,  but  it  is  not 
true  of  the  northern  part  of  these  United  States.  Often 
the  dreariest  form  of  winter  prevails  during  March,  which 
the  almanac  makers  have  declared  to  be  a  Spring  month. 
But  every  one  knows  that  the  almanac  is  not  infallible, 
and  that  the  seasons  have  a  way  of  their  own  of  hasten- 
ing and  retarding  their  coming,  and  shortening  and  pro- 
longing their  stay,  with  utter  indifference  to  the  fixed 
proprieties  of  our  artificial  appointments.  You  may 
label  March  "  Spring  time,"  but  if  the  fields  are  snow- 
bound and  the  temperature  below  freezing  point,  you 
will  know  it  to  be  winter  quite  the  same.  The  ther- 
mometer and  the  flowers  are  better  tests  of  Spring  than 
the  almanac. 

The  first  class  in  whose  behalf  I  would  apply  our 
metaphor  is  the  children.  They  have  often  been  the 
victims  of  that  error  which  hedges  about  the  period  of 
regeneration  with  arbitrary  bounds.  You  doubtless 
know   some   excellent   people   who    are  very   sceptical 


$22  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

about  God's  ability  to  convert  a  little  child.  Although 
the  Saviour  said,  "Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,'' 
they  hold  very  firmly  to  the  notion  that  the  kingdom 
ought  to  be  barred  against  "  such."  In  other  words,  if 
a  child  wishes  to  make  profession  of  his  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  they  say  he  has  not  yet  reached  the  proper  age — 
he  is  too  young!  Pray,  what  is  the  proper  age?  When 
may  the  young  people  say,  "  The  May  day  of  my  soul  has 
come  ;  the  winter  is  past !  "  When  ?  You  do  not  name 
the  exact  date  perhaps, but  in  your  minds  you  have  fixed 
a  boundary  and  have  said,  on  this  side  of  youth  it  may 
be  spring,  on  that  I  hardly  believe  it  is.  Therefore  you 
hold  the  dear  children  back  from  professing  their  Lord 
and  keeping  the  Paschal  feast  in  memory  of  his  dying 
love.  What  shall  we  say  to  you  ?  If  April ^ives  three 
weeks- of  spring  weather  shall  we  refuse  to  call  it  Spring 
because  it  is  not  the  First  of  May?  If  leaves  are  fully 
opened  upon  the  trees  in  squares  and  parks,  forests  and 
fields,  and  the  grass  is  almost  r^ady  for  its  first  cutting, 
and  the  flowers  have  been  peeping  their  blue  eyes  above 
the  sward  for  weeks,  and  the  spring  birds  have  been 
chirping,  whistling,  piping,  twittering,  and  caroling  from 
house-tops  and  trees,  will  you  point  your  finger  to  the 
almanac  and  say:  This  is  not  spring,  and  we  will  not 
suffer  ourselves  or  others  the  comfort  of  a  belief  that  so 
it  is?  Yet,  thus  acting  you  would  be  no  wiser  than  you 
are  in  that  unfortunate  policy  which  excludes  children 
from  the  public  privileges  and  private  enjoyments  of  full 
membership  in  Christ's  Church. 

No  man  may  limit  the  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
There  are  diversities  of  gifts,  we  are  told,  but  the  same- 
Spirit.*  Regeneration  has  its  own  laws.  No  man  can 
say  how  early  in  life  the  quickening  of  the  soul  may 
come,  and  no  man  ought  to  fix  bounds  in  any  case,  and 
say  that  it  cannot  be  come  until  the  years  have  thus  far 
advanced,  or  until  body  and  brain  shall  thus  far  have 
grown.  The  point  for  all  to  consider  is  simply — has 
this  child  the  experience  that  befits  a  Christian  child  ? 
he  love  his  Saviour?  Does  he  wish  to  confers 
Him?      Does  he   understand   the   mystery  of  the    Holy 

*  I.  Cor.  xii.  .;• 


BEAUTIFUL  FLOWERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    323 

Communion  of  his  body  and  blood  ?  Does  he  enjoy 
the  services  of  God's  house,  and  the  fellowship  of  God's 
people  ?  Is  it  his  desire  to  remember  the  Lord's  death 
until  he  come?  Have  the  flowers  of  religious  Faith 
and  Hope  appeared  ?  I  endorse  cordially  the  direction 
of  that  venerable  communion  in  whose  ministry  I  serve, 
concerning  children  born  within  the  pale  of  the  visible 
Church  and  dedicated  to  God  in  baptism :  "  When  they 
come  to  years  of  discretion,  if  they  be  free  from  scandal, 
appear  sober  and  steady,  and  to  have  sufficient  knowl- 
edge to  discern  the  Lord's  body,  they  ought  to  be  in- 
formed it  is  their  duty  and  their  privilege  to  come  to 
the  Lord's  supper. 

"  The  years  of  discretion,  in  young  Christians,  cannot 
be  precisely  fixed.  This  must  be  left  to  the  prudence 
of  the  eldership.  The  officers  of  the  Church  are  the 
judges  of  the  qualifications  of  those  to  be  admitted  to 
sealing  ordinances ;  and  of  the  time  when  it  is  proper 
to  admit  young  Christians  to  them."* 

The  flowers  of  the  vine  as  spoken  of  in  the  text 
well  illustrate  this  truth  for  us.  "  The  fig  tree  putteth 
forth  her  green  figs,  and  the  vines  with  tender  grapes 
give  a  good  smell."  f  The  figs,  you  observe,  are  "  green 
figs,"  the  grapes  are  "  tender  grapes."  It  is  rather  in  the 
promise  than  in  its  realization  that  the  Christian  charac- 
ter and  life  are  here  presented.  The  fruits  are  immature. 
The  ripening  is  yet  to  be;  but  that  does  not  alter  the 
fact  that  the  change  from  winter  to  spring,  from  death 
to  life,  has  really  taken  place.  Are  there  not  those  who 
seem  to  think  that  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  the  harvest 
should  come  in  the  time  of  sowing,  and  the  vintage  in 
the  time  of  bloom?  Children  may  be  Christians,  but 
they  will  be  Christian  children.  It  is  not  fitting  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  or  in  the  economy  of  grace  that  the 
child  should  be  anything  but  a  child.  The  blossoms  of 
the  True  Vine  will  be  simply — blossoms. 

We  do,  indeed,  sometimes  find  children  who  are  pre- 
maturely old.  They  seem  never  to  have  been  children. 
But  this  condition  is  the  result  either  of  misfortune  or  of 

*  Westminster  Confession    of  Faith,    Directory   for  Worship, 
chapter  ix.     f  Authorized  version. 


324  THE  <;<  >SPEL   IN  A".  /  77  RE. 

sin.  The  bloom  of  childhood  has  been  nipped  by  con- 
genital disease,  or  destroyed  by  hereditary  taint  and 
environment  of  sin,  or  by  cruel,  foolish  society.  Oh,  it 
is  both  a  sorrow  and  a  shame — a  child  life  on  which  n<> 
flowers  of  childhood  are  blooming!  What  folly,  nay,  1 
will  add,  what  wickedness  to  seek  to  perpetuate  a  con- 
dition and  character  like  this  in  the  Church  of  the  living 
God.  Let  children  be  Christians,  but  let  them  be  Chris- 
tian children!  Remember  that  even  "green  figs"  and 
"  tender  grapes  "  tell  the  story  of  a  present  spring.  Says 
the  inspired  writer,  "  Man  cometh  forth  as  a  flower."* 
But  the  flower  cometh  forth  as  a  bud.  Children  are  the 
Buds  of  Humanity.  Would  it  not  be  a  strange  garden 
without  buds  in  spring  time  ?  Would  it  be  a  garden  at 
all?  No,  indeed!  Then  bring  in  these  Household 
Buds,  our  children  dear,  to  adorn  the  garden  of  the 
Master  and  glorify  by  their  sweetness  the  grace  which 
calls  them  into  life,  and  which  in  due  time-will  cause 
them  to  open  into  full  beaut}-,  and  develop  the  seeds  of 
a  holy  maturity. 

2.  Again,  that  quality  in  the  act  of  regeneration  and 
the  work  of  sanctificaticn  which  I  have  been  pleading  in 
the  children's  behalf  needs  also  to  be  mentioned  for  the 
encouragement  and  vindication  of  many  adult  believers. 
I  need  not  repeat  what  was  said  in  a  former  lecture  upon 
the  progressive  character  of  the  religious  life;  bur.  I  wish 
here  to  emphasize  the  difference  between  regeneration 
and  conversion  for  the  sake  of  a  lesson  which  I  am  sure 
many  need  to  learn.  Regeneration,  which  is  the  new 
birth,  is  a  gift  once  for  all  time;  conversion,  which  is  the 
turning  again  to  Cod,  is  a  gift  and  duty  for  even"  act  of 
sin.  Thus  the  questions  emerge:  Does  regeneration 
leave  man's  heart  perfect,  sinless ;  or  can  one  be  a  Chris- 
tian and  sin  at  all  ?  It  must  be  remembered,  in  answer 
to  this,  that  in  the  act  of  regeneration  the  habit  is 
changed,  its  general  drift  and  bent  are  turned  toward 
Cod.  There  maybe  variations  from  the  right  line — they 
are   sinful.     They  should  be   sorrowed   for;    should  be 

*Job  xiv.  2. 


BEAUTIFUL  FLOWERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    325 

shunned;  they  are  not  to  be  justified,  nor  repeated  ;  but 
the  soul  should  not  despond  because  of  them,  nor  do 
they  necessarily  prove  that  one  is  not  a  Christian  The 
mind  and  manner  in  the  outcome  of  the  whole  life  jour- 
ney may  be  heavenward,  and  in  the  child  of  God  it  will  be 
so  in  spite  of  those  lapses  into  which  he  may  fall.  The 
Spring  does  not  at  once  cover  and  clear  away  all  the 
marks  of  Winter.  The  stubble  stands  in  the  wheat-field, 
the  corn-stalks  on  the  prairie,  the  spears  of  withered 
grass  upon  the  meadow,  the  dry  leaves  in  the  forest. 
Nevertheless,  around  all  debris  and  decay  of  the  season 
past  Spring  slowly  weaves  her  emerald  mantle,  and 
amidst  the  living  green  appear  the  flowers. 

I  know  an  apple  tree  that  stands  almost  the  last  sur- 
vivor in  an  old  orchard.  Its  sturdy  trunk  is  covered 
with  parasitic  fungi  and  knotty  warts  ;  its  limbs  are 
partly  gnarled  and  decayed;  but  look  up  into  its  branches 
on  a  May  morning !  The  twigs  are  white  with  blossoms ; 
the  air  is  fragrant  with  their  odor.  For  five-and-t  weary  . 
years  the  old  tree  has  yearly  made  that  promise  of  fruit- 
age, and  for  five-and-twenty  years  has  fulfilled  it.  It  has 
sheltered  and  fed  the  children  of  the  cottage  over  which 
it  spreads  its  boughs.  It  feeds  and  shelters  the  chil- 
dren still,  and  the  gray-haired  sire  who  bends  upon  his 
staff  as  he  looks  into  the  blossoming  top  and  thinks 
of  the  spring  time  of  his  life.  One  may  regret  the 
roughness,  excrescences,  knots,  and  twists  of  the  old 
tree,  but  is  it  not  a  tree?  Aye,  has  it  not  in  the  main 
been  a  good  tree?  Dare  you,  will  you  forget  the  genu- 
ine service  of  the  past,  the  blessings  still  whitening  upon 
it,  because  of  its  gnarled  form  ?  At  least,  God  will  not 
forget.  He  is  not  only  merciful,  but  just.  He  knoweth 
our  frame  ;  He  remembereth  that  we  are  dust.  He  will 
treasure  up  our  deeds  and  deal  in  tenderness  with  "  the 
worm  Jacob." 

I  am  not  pleading  that  the  trees  in  the  Lord's  garden 
should  grow  gnarled  and  wart-covered  with  sin.  Nay, 
it  is  better  that  they  should  grow  from  youth  up  tall 
and  shapely  as  well  as  fruitful.  But  I  do  insist  that 
a  tree  upon  which  year  by  year  the  flowers  appear,  and 
whose  flowers  year  by  year  develop  into  fruit,  is  and 


326  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

ought  to  be  accounted  a  tree  !  "  By  their  fruit  ye  shall 
know  them."  That  is  the  Master's  test;  let  it  also  be 
ours. 

IV.  Let  us  notice  as  we  lay  aside  our  theme  that  the 
flowers  are  associated  with  the  Brevity  of  human  Life  and 
the  Blessedness  of  Immortality  in  Heaven. 

The  Hebrew  prophets  give  little  notice  to  the  flowers 
compared  to  what  one  would  naturally  expect  from  the 
abundance  and  beauty  of  these  objects  of  Nature,  as  well 
as  from  the  usual  sensitiveness  of  the  writers  themselves 
to  the  influences  of  Nature.  For  the  most  part, 
Scripture  references  are  confined  to  mournful  reflection 
upon  the  decay  of  the  flowers,  which  are  alluded  to  un- 
der the  general  name  of  "  grass."  This  fact  is  made  a 
parable  of  the  uncertain  tenure  of  human  life.  Of  man 
Job  says,  "  He  cometh  forth  as  a  flower  and  is  cut 
down."*  The  Psalmist  David  repeats  the  mournful  re- 
frain, "  As  for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass ;  as  a  flower 
of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth."f  Isaiah  represents  the 
pride  of  Ephraim  as  the  "  glorious  beauty  of  a  fading 
flower."^  Again,  that  voice  which  the  prophet  heard 
sounding  in  the  wilderness  the  note  of  preparation  for  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  is  tuned  to  the  same  minor  key:  "All 
flesh  is  grass,  and  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower 
of  the  field:  the  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth."§ 
The  same  spirit  largely  pervades  the  New  Testament  al- 
lusions to  flowers.  St.  James  exhorts  the  rich  to  rejoice 
"  in  that  he  is  made  low :  because  as  the  flower  of  the 
grass  he  shall  pass  away.  For  the  sun  riseth  with  the 
scorching  wind,  and  withereth  the  grass;  and  the  flower 
thereof  falleth,  and  the  grace  of  the  fashion  of  it  perish- 
eth :  so  shall  the  rich  man  fade  away  in  his  going."  | 

Even  our  Saviour  in  his  well-known  allusion  to  the 
lilies,  although  He  does  indeed  emphasize  their  glorious 
beaut}-,  yet  seems  to  be  touched  quite  as  deeply  with  the 
sense  of  their  swift  decay  in  the  words,  "  If  God  so 
clothe  the  grass  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast 
into  the  oven."     These  expressions  remind  us  of  kindred 

■Job  xvi.  2.  f  Ps.  ciii.  15.  \  Isa.  xxviii.  1.  \  Isa.  xl.  6-7. 
||  James  i.   10-11. 


BEAUTIFUL  FLOWERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    327 

thoughts  associated  with  flowers  in  the  tender  words  of 
two  of  our  best  known  American  poets  : — 

Gorgeous  flowers  in  the  sunlight  shining, 

Blossoms  flaunting  in  the  eye  of  day, 
Tremulous  leaves,  with  soft  and  silver  lining, 

Buds  that  open  only  to  decay  ; 

Brilliant  hopes,  all  woven  in  gorgeous  tissues, 

Flaunting  gayly  in  the  golden  light  ; 
Large  desires,  with  most  uncertain  issues, 

Tender  wishes,  blossoming  at  night.* 

The  wind-flower  and  the  violet,  they  perished  long  ago, 

And  the  brier-rose  and  the  orchis  died  amid  the  summer  glow  ; 

But  on  the  hill  the  golden-rod,  and  the  aster  in  the  wood, 

And  the  yellow  sunflower  by  the  brook,  in  autumn  beauty  stood, 

Till  fell  the  frost  from  the  clear  cold  heaven,  as  falls  the  plague  on 

men, 
And  the  brightness  of  their  smile  was  gone  from  upland,  glade  and 

glen. 

And  then  I  think  of  one  who  in  her  youthful  beauty  died, 
The  fair  meek  blossom  that  grew  up  and  faded  by  my  side. 
In  the  cold  moist  earth  we  laid  her  when  the  forest  cast  the  leaf, 
And  we  wept  that  one  so  lovely  should  have  a  life  so  brief; 
Yet  not  unmeet  it  was  that  one,  like  that  young  friend  of  ours, 
So  gentle  and  so  beautiful,  should  perish  with  the  flowers.f 

There  is  another  quotation  from  Scripture  which  I 
make  because  it  introduces  to  us  in  the  way  of  contrast 
a  more  cheerful  lesson.  St.  Peter  J  quotes  from  Isaiah 
these  words, 

All  flesh  is  as  grass, 

And  all  the  glory  thereof  as  the  flower  of  grass. 
The  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower  falleth  : 
But  the  word  of  the  Lord  abideth  for  ever.  £ 

"And  this  is  the  word  of  good  tidings,"  he  continues, 
"  which  was  preached  unto  you."  Thus  we  are  led 
through  the  sad  reflection  of  man's  sure  and  early  perish- 
ing, like  the  flower,  to  joyful  confidence  in  the  word  of 
God  which  assures  him  of  immortal  blessedness  in 
Heaven. 

*  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow — "  Flowers."  f  William 
Cullen  Bryant — "The  Death  of  the  Flowers."  %  I.  Pet.  i.  24. 
§Isa.  xl.  8. 


328  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

Our  sacred  poets  have  been  quick  to  catch  this  cheer- 
ful association.  It  is  not  strange,  inasmuch  as  the  earthly 
Canaan  is  a  land  of  flowers,  that  hymnologists  should 
have  clothed  the  heavenly  Caanan  with  kindred  beauty. 
Who  of  us  has  not  rejoiced  in  Isaac  Watts'  picture  of 
the  heavenly  country? 

There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight 

Where  saints  immortal  reign  ; 
Infinite  day  excludes  the  night, 

And  pleasures  banish  pain. 

There  everlasting  spring  abides, 
Ami  never-withering  flowers; 

1  Hath,  like  a  narrow  sea,  divides 
This  heavenly  land  from  ours. 

Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood 

Stand  dressed  in  living  green  ; 
So  to  the  Jews  old  Canaan  stood, 

While  Jordan  rolled  between. 

The  sweet  hymn  of  Tappan,  beginning  "There  is  an 
hour  of  peaceful  rest,"  has  made  us  think  of  heaven  as 
a  land  of  immortal  bloom  : — 

There  fragrant  flowers  immortal  bloom, 

And  jovs  supreme  are  given  ; 
There  rays  divine  disperse  the  gloom  ; 
Beyond  the  dark  and  narrow  tomb 

Appears  the  dawn  of  heaven.  * 

To  my  mind  this  is  something  more  than  a  poetic 
figure.  I  confidently  expect,  if  I  am  so  happy  as  to 
reach  Heaven,  to  behold  it  decked  with  flowers — I  was 
about  to  say,  but  will  not, — lovelier  even  than  those 
which  beautify  this  world.  I  would  fain  hope  to  see 
there  some  of  the  familiar  plants  whose  forms  and  fra- 
grance are  associated  in  memory  with  the  holiest 
thoughts  of  parents  and  kindred,  home  and  sanctuary; 
that  have  carried  to  me  expressions  of  the  sweetest  luxes 
of  life;  that  have  borne  to  me  in  sickness  and  trial 
tender  remembrances  of  kind  friends;  that  have  been 
laid  by  mourning  hearts  and  trembling  hands  upon  the 
graves  of  the  dear  and  dead.     But  of  that  one  need  not 

*William  B.  Tappan. 


BEA  UTIFUL  FL O  WERS  AND  TENDER  GRAPES.    329 

be  too  confident.  Enough  for  us  to  think  and  believe 
that  the  heavenly  country  will  be  made  a  fitting  place 
for  us,  and  that  doubtless  our  Father,  who  knows  us  as 
we  are,  will  not  forget  our  pure  and  lawful  tastes,  and  in 
some  wise,  that  shall  minister  to  our  unalloyed  happi- 
ness, will  deck  the  plains  of  Heaven  with  a  beauty  that 
must  be  perfect  since  it  is  the  consummate  work  of  Him 
who  is  "  altogether  lovely."  Yet,  whatever  remains  un- 
certain, this  at  least  we  know,  that  the  highest  joy  of 
'heaven  will  be  to  gaze  forever  upon  the  unfading  Beauty 
and  inhale  forever  the  holy  Fragrance  of  that  Life  which 
when  on  earth  was  sweetly  symbolized  by  flowers, — the 
Rose  of  Sharon,  the  Lily  of  the  Valleys,  the  true  Vine 
"  with  the  tender  grapes." 


LECTURE  XVIII. 


The  Salt  of  the  Earth. 

"Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earthy — Matthew  v.  13. 


THE  SALT  OF  THE  EARTH. 


The  sense  in  which  a  saying  is  to  be  taken  often  de- 
pends quite  as  much  on  the  spirit  of  the  utterance,  the 
character  of  the  speaker  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  words  were  spoken,  as  upon  the  exact  phras- 
ing itself.  Here  is  an  illustration.  Had  this  sentence, 
"  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  been  spoken  by  a  Phari- 
saic rabbi,  how  differently  the  world  would  regard  it! 
We  might  well  conceive  a  Jewish  doctor  reiterating, — 
in  the  village  synagogue,  or  the  Sanhedrim  room  on 
Mount  Moriah,  in  just  such  figures  as  Jesus  used  in 
this  Sermon  on  the  Mount, — the  old  boast  of  Jewish 
superiority,  Ye,  children  of  Abraham,  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth !  Ye,  Hebrews,  are  the  light  of  the  world !  Ye, 
Jews,  are  a  city  set  on  a  hill.  The  only  sentiment  pro- 
duced in  our  minds  would  be  indignation,  or  perhaps, 
if  the  grace  of  God  and  charity  prevailed,  pity.  To  be 
sure,  there  is  a  standpoint  from  which  our  supposed 
rabbi  would  be  quite  correct.  "  What  advantage  then 
hath  the  Jew?"  cried  the  inspired  apostle.*  "Much  every 
way:  first  of  all,  that  they  were  intrusted  with  the 
oracles  of  God."  That  was  a  fact  of  Providence  which 
justly  placed  them  far  above  other  nations  in  point  of 
spiritual  condition  and  privilege.  What  then  was  the 
error  of  our  supposed  rabbi  ?  The  answer  brings  us 
to  our  first  thought,  namely : — 

I.  Christianity  is  a  Religion  for  the  whole  Human 
Race.  The  duty,  responsibilities  and  endeavors  of 
Christianity  embrace  the  world. 

The  Jew  looked  at  his  position  not  from  the  high 
ground  of  duty,  but  from  the  low  standpoint  of  pride. 
The  catholic  responsibilities  which  had  been  laid  upon 

*Rom.  iii.  1-2. 

(333) 


334  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

him  he  perverted  into  odious  caste.  He  had,  indeed,  been 
made  the  conservator  of  the  oracles  of  God.  But  f<  »r  what  ? 
He  was  salt,  but  salt  of  the  earth.  He  was  light,  but 
light  of  the  world.  God  honored  him  that  thereby  the 
universal  brotherhood  might  be  blessed.  The  treasures 
of  Heaven  were  committed  to  him  that  mankind  might 
be  enriched.  Like  Joseph  in  Egypt  he  was  exalted  to 
spiritual  lordship  among  men  that  he  might  garner  the 
bread  of  life,  and  spread  it  among  the  perishing  sons 
and  daughters  of  Adam. 

It  was  a  terrible  sin,  it  was  the  one  unpardonable  sin 
of  that  nation  that  this  duty,  responsibility  and  catholic 
love  were  permitted  to  degenerate  into  a  religious  and 
ethnic  caste.  Yet,  let  us  not  judge  too  harshly!  Perhaps 
the  proportion  of  Israelites  who  knew  the  time  of  their 
visitation  and  rose  to  the  height  of  its  noble  vocation 
was  as  great  as  is  to-day  the  proportion  of  like  spirits 
in  our  own  land  of  infinite  possibilities.  At  least,  thank- 
God  ! — there  were  Jews  enough,  though  a  mere  remnant 
according  to  the  election  of  grace,  to  open  their  heart- 
to  their  real  divine  mission,  and  carry  a  catholic  faith 
into  the  whole  world. 

"  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth."  The  words  fell  from 
the  lips  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  he  sat  on  the  Mount  of 
Beatitudes, with  his  disciples  gathered  around  him.  Ik- 
was  organizing  redemption  for  the  race, — not  for  the  Jews 
alone.  He  was  drilling,  instructing,  disciplining  men  who 
should  be  conservators  of  the  Gospel,  that  full  fruitage 
of  the  old  faith  of  Israel.  He  was  not  organizing  a  new 
'lis  caste;  he  was  not  building  up  one  more  bar- 
rier between  the  already  too  much  riven  and  separated 
elements  of  humanity.  He  came  not  to  destroy,  but  to 
save;  not  to  divide  in  a  sectarian  sense,  but  to  unite. 
ive  the  world  from  further  corruption  and  decay  ; 
to  lift  anew  the  standard  of  the  old,  simple  faith  of  the 
patriarchs;  to  fling  forth  once  more  the  banner  of  uni- 
versal love;  to  rally  by  his  Good-news  the  nations  to 
his  standard,  and  cement  them  into  one  kingdom  ami 
family  by  the  blood  of  his  cross, — such  were  the  great 
purposes  of  the  Teacher  who  sat  upon  that  mountain 
top  in  Galilee. 


THE  SAL  T  OF  THE  EAR  TH  335 

The  broad  sky  was  above  him.  No  walls  of  earthly 
or  sectarian  temple  shut  him  in.  The  vaulted  dome  of 
the  universal  Father's  dwelling-place  raised  its  azure 
heights  around  him.  The  grass  and  flowers  brightened 
the  face  of  mother  earth,  the  floor  of  the  temple  wherein 
He  taught.  It  is  an  inspiring  picture  that  rises  upon 
our  imagination  ;  and  how  incalculable  the  issues  of  that 
hour!  From  that  hill-top  has  flowed  down  upon  the 
world  unto  the  remotest  ages  a  stream  of  blessing.  In 
that  sermon  was  a  fountain  of  salvation,  and  like  another 
Elisha  the  Master's  hand  had  cast  into  it  the  salt  of 
healing  and  preservation.  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  " 
— not  for  Judea  and  Galilee,  but  for  the  world  I  commis- 
sion you.  Not  for  the  lordship  of  earthly  ambition  such 
as,  in  the  dreams  of  modern  Popes,  might  bring  abject 
rulers  and  peoples  to  bow  before  the  sceptre  of  a  uni- 
versal Bishop,  but  the  field  is  the  world  to  plow,  and 
plant,  and  till ; — -a  harvest-field  in  which  to  gather  sheaves 
for  the  glory  of  Christ  and  the  weal  of  souls. 

Has  there  not  always  remained  in  the  world  the 
temptation  to  fall  into  substantially  the  error  of  the  an- 
cient Jewish  rabbi  and  make  Christianity  a  caste?  Has 
there  not  often  been  manifest  a  spirit  of  pride  in  our  re- 
ligion, as  lifting  the  nations  which  possess  it  above  other 
nations  such  as  the  Japanese,  the  Chinese,  the  Hin- 
doo, the  Negro,  the  Indian  ?  Has  there  not  been  thus 
wrought  out  a  spirit  of  caste  so  strong  as  to  tempt 
Christian  nations  to  tyranny,  selfishness,  inhumanity, 
cruelty  in  dealing  with  nations  of  an  alien  faith  ?  Nay ! 
within  the  very  bosom  of  Christianity  how  often  is  the 
same  spirit  developed?  We  have  seen  one  denomina- 
tion looking  contemptuously  upon  another;  one  calling 
itself  "  The  Church,"  and  all  others  "the  sects,"  "  the  dis- 
senters ;"  saying  "  We  are  the  people;  depart  from  us 
because  we  are  holier  than  thou  !  " 

It  should  not  be  so!  The  Christian  is  a  true  cosmo- 
politan— a  citizen  of  the  world.  The  spirit  of  primitive 
Christianity  overleaped  natural  and  political  boundaries; 
oceans,  rivers,  mountain  chains  ;  Alps,  Apennines,  Pyre- 
nees ;  Danube,  Rhone  or  Rhine ;  channels,  seas  and 
oceans.     Over  these  all   ran  and   leaped  and   flew  the 


336  THE  GOSPEL  IX  X ATI' RE. 

spirit  of  universal  love  and  consecration,  and  the  earth 
was  made  one.  Race,  nationality,  language,  denomina- 
tion were  barriers  that  dropped  down  at  the  presence  of 
this  spirit,  and  hearts  of  Christians  mingled  in  their  de- 
votions around  the  throne  of  the  one  Lord  of  the  Church 
and  the  earth.  Shall  it  ever  be  thus  again  ?  Yes,  it 
shall  thus  be.  The  Church  is  not  yet  ripe,  but  is  ripen- 
ing for  that  day.  It  will  come  !  It  is  coming!  Above 
the  horizon  of  the  future  I  see  the  dim  outlines  rising. 

The  third  Millennial  of  Christianity  will  greet  its  full 
glory.  Hark  !  It  is  the  grand  chorus  of  the  universal 
kingdom  of  our  Lord,  chanting  as  with  one  voice  those 
articles  of  our  venerable  creed,  "  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church — the  communion  of  saints."  "  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth — Peace !  " 

Of  the  Divine  Father  it  is  said,  "  For  God  so  loved 
the  world."  *  Of  Jesus  Christ  it  is  said,  "And  he  is  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins  ;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also 
for  the  whole  world."^  Of  the  Holy  Ghost  it  is  said, 
"  And  he,  when  he  is  come,  will  convict  the  world  in  re- 
spect of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment."! 
To  the  Apostles  and  Christian  ministry  it  is  said,  "  Go 
ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature."  §  Of  the  Saints  it  is  said,  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of 
the  earth."  |  Our  love  is  to  be  like  the  Father's,  our 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  and  bestowment  like  the  Saviour's, 
our  labors  and  spiritual  influence  like  the  Comforter's — 
for  the  world  ;  our  commission  is  like  that  of  the  apos- 
tles, to  all  mankind — "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth." 

Herein  is  one  of  the  essential  elements  of  Christ- 
ianity. It  expands  the  mental  horizon  of  man.  It  lifts 
him  upon  a  high  mountain-top  and  shows  him  all  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world;  not  in  the  spirit  of  the  old 
tempter,  to  have  and  hold  for  selfish  pleasure,  for  it  is 
Mount  Calvary  whereto  Christ  leads  the  Christian,  and 
earthly  ambitions  can  find  no  place  thereon.  Christ- 
ianity gives  to  man  a  larger,  broader,  higher,  deeper  na- 
ture.    It  teaches  and   compels  him  to   love,  duty  and 

*Jo1in  iii.  16.      1 1.  John  ii.  2.     jjolm  xvi.  S.     ?  Luke  xvi.  15. 
||  Matt.  v.  13. 


THE  SALT  OF  THE  EARTH.  337 

sacrifice  for  the  race.  Glorious  truth  !  How  dimly 
apprehended  even  now! 

Perhaps  some  despondent  Christian  heart  is  saying 
to-day,  "Alas!  but  the  earth  is  not  the  Lord's.  Who 
has  believed  our  report?  How  few  there  be  that  be 
saved  !  Salt  is  but  a  sparingly  distributed  mineral  after 
all.  I  fear  that  the  figure  of  your  text  holds  good,  and 
that  Christianity  is  no  more  widely  distributed  than 
salt."  Doubting  and  timid  fellow-believer,  is  it  so  ? 
Whence  are  the  supplies  of  salt?  Here  and  there  salt 
springs  bubble  up  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and 
human  industry  converts  the  saline  waters  into  the  pun- 
gent preservative  crystals.  Here  and  there,  again,  we 
see  immense  deposits  of  this  mineral  within  the  earth,  as 
along  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  in  Louisiana,  and  in 
Germany,  and  these  are  mined  by  human  industry. 
These  are  our  chief  sources  of  supply,  but  there  is 
another,  older,  and  more  primitive  source.  Go  stand 
upon  the  seashore.  Dip  up  in  your  hand  from  yon 
retiring  wave  a  portion  of  the  waters.  Place  it  to  your 
tongue.  It  is  salt !  Yes,  the  great  sea  is  there  spread- 
ing from  equator  to  poles.  •  It  holds  its  sovereignty 
over  three-fourths  of  the  earth's  surface. 

Assuming  as  a  basis  of  calculation  that  each  gallon  of 
sea  water  contains  about  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  salt,* 
and  allowing  an  average  density  of  2.24  for  rock  salt,  it 
has  been  computed  that  the  entire  ocean,  if  dried,  would 
yield  no  less  than  four  and  a  half  millions  (4,419,360) 
of  cubic  miles  of  rock  salt !  That  would  make  a  mass 
about  fourteen  and  one-half  times  the  bulk  of  the  entire 
continent  of  Europe  above  high-water  mark,  mountain 
chains  and  all.  Salt  is  not  in  such  narrow  diffusion, 
therefore,  as  you  had  supposed.  It  is  everywhere, — as 
universal  as  ocean. 

It  is  written f  that  in  the  days  of  the  peaceful  king- 
dom of  the  Messiah  "  The  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 
Or,  to  put  it  in  other  words,  they  who  are  the  salt  of  the 
earth  shall  fill  the  earth.  Has  the  promise  not  been  ful- 
filled ?    In  a  measure,  yes  !    The   salt  of  the  faith  has 

*  0.2547  pound,    flsa.  xi.  9. 


338  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

been  cast  everywhere  in  our  days.  The  great  salt  ocean 
of  Christian  love  and  truth  skirts  and  laves  the  shores 
of  every  continent.  It  engirdles  islands.  It  runs  up 
and  pierces  the  hearts  of  nations  as  the  tide  waters  of 
the  Atlantic  push  back  along  the  Delaware  almost  to 
our  city  gates.  We  have  been  singing  many  years 
Bishop  Heber's  noble  missionary  hymn  : — 

Waft,  waft,  ye  winds  !  his  story, 

And  you,  ye  waters  !  roll, 
Till,  like  a  sea  of  glory, 

It  spreads  from  pole  to  pole. 

We  might  change  the  sentiment  from  supplication  with 
its  outlook  into  the  future,  to  one  of  realization  and 
thankful  retrospect  of  work  accomplished,  and  say  :— 

The  winds  have  borne  the  story  ; 

The  healing  waters  roll, 
And  like  a  sea  of  glory, 

They  spread  from  pole  to  pole. 

Certainly,  much  remains  to  be  accomplished,  but  on 
the  contrary  much  has  been  done  towards  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  sublime  and  difficult  commission  com- 
mitted to  the  Church  by  Jesus  Christ  eighteen  centuries 
ago.  More  will  be  done,  much  more  than  ever  our  most 
sanguine  visions  depicted,  when  the  Church  shall  rise  to 
fully  conceive  and  undertake  the  work  that  Christ  has 
laid  before  her,  the  healing  of  the  whole  world,  as  "the 
salt  of  the  earthy 

II.  In  the  second  place  we  are  here  taught  the  Value 
of  Individual  Effort  and  Character. 

This  truth  comes  to  light  when  we  read  our  text  with 
the  emphasis  on  the  first  word.  "  Yi;  are  the  salt  of  the 
world."  Not  Christianity  simply,  but  Christians  !  "Ye" 
— not  alone tlie  doctrines  which  ye  preach — "  are  the  salt 
of  the  earth." 

Truth,  doctrine,  dogma  must  not  be  undervalued,  but 
it  ought  to  be  a  prominent  thought  in  your  minds  that 
Ye  are  personally  an  element  in  the  great  work  of  saving 
the  earth, — not  your  creed  simply,  but  yourselves  !  Not 
your  system,  but  yourselves  !  Not  your  Church,  but 
yourselves  ! 


THE  SALT  OF  THE  EARTH  339 

"  Do  I  not  support  the  Church  ?"  you  ask.  "  Do  I 
not  pay  the  minister  -to  preach  the  faith  ?  Do  I  not  con- 
tribute to  send  missionaries  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
to  carry  the  Gospel 'to  the  heathens?  Do  I  not  con- 
tribute to  publication  societies  and  religious  jour- 
nals to  print  and  distribute  the  Gospel  ?"  Yes !  all 
that  you  do.  You  ought  to  do  a  great  deal  more  of 
that!  But  were  you  to  do  your  utmost,  still  the  truth 
remains,  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth."  The  world  will 
not  be  saved  without  the  personal  influence  and  direct 
labor  of  Christian  men  and  women.  Your  own  individ- 
ual duty  can  never  be  done  by  proxy. 

Our  Lord  once  said  to  Peter,  "Thou  art  Peter,  and 
upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church."  *  There  has 
been  a  vast  amount  of  discussion  over  the  intent  and 
effect  of  this  saying.  On  the  one  hand  it  is  said, 
"  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  " — on  thee,  Peter, 
the  apostle — "  I  will  build  my  Church."  On  the  other 
hand  it  is  claimed  that  Jesus  meant  to  say:  "Thou  art 
Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  " — that  is,  the  confession  that 
I  am  the  true  Messiah  which  you  have  made — "  I  will 
build  my  Church."  To  me  it  seems  that  both  parties 
have  the  truth.  On  the  rock-truth  and  the  rock-truth 
bearers,  on  the  true  confession  and  the  true  confessors, 
on  Peter's  creed  and  Peter's  self  alike  Christ  has  built 
and  ever  will  build  his  Church.  In  other  words,  while 
Christian  doctrine  must  be  proclaimed  and  defended  as 
forming  the  thought  and  so  controlling  the  life  of  men, 
we  must  emphasize  equally  the  fact  that  Christian  indi- 
viduals are  required  to  give  force  and  vitality  to  the 
truth  which  is  embraced.  However  pure  the  doctrine 
may  be,  if  the  Church  professing  it  be  dead,  indifferent, 
inactive,  or  if  its  life  be  contradictory  of  its  precepts, 
the  truth  shall  have  little  sway  upon  the  minds  and  con- 
sciences of  mankind. 

"  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,"  said  Jesus;  "  but  if  the 
salt  hath  lost  its  savor" — what  then?  This  expression  is 
an  indication  to  us  that  under  the  imperfect  conditions 
of  transportation  in  Christ's  era,  salt  frequently  reached 
the  consumer  in  a  very  impure  state,  being  largely  mixed 

*Matt.  xvi.  18. 


340  77//:"  Gi  >SPEL  IN  NA  TL  'RE. 

with  earth.  Salt  which  has  lost  its  savor  is  simply  the 
earthy  residuum  of  such  impure  salt  after  the  sodium 
chloride  has  been  washed  out.  What  a  striking  image 
this  presents  of  a  character  from  which  has  been  taken 
away  all  those  elements  of  spiritual  health  and  saving 
which  mark  a  true  child  of  God.  What  is  such  a  Chris- 
tian ?  He  is  but  a  lump  of  common  earth  from  which 
every  heavenly  element  has  been  absorbed,  and  there  is 
no  place  for  him,  and  no  use  for  him  but  to  mingle  with 
the  earthy  elements  to  which  he  belongs,  or  as  our  Lord 
expresses  it — "  to  be  cast  out  and  trampled  under  foot 
of  men." 

Let  all  who  put  the  chief  emphasis  upon  the  Church  as 
an  organization  simply;  upon  the  ministry  as  simply  an 
apostolic  succession,  the  recipients  and  vehicles  of  the 
grace  of  Christ  to  men, — let  them  remember  this! — the 
Church  without  the  true  Christian  is  but  the  earth  with- 
out pure  salt.  A  Church  organization  whose  members 
have  lost  their  spiritual  pungency  and  saving  power  is 
no  better,  indeed  I  sometimes  fear  it  is  even  worse  than 
any  other  simple  hunxm  and  earthly  organization  around 
it.  Oh  !  beloved  friends,  our  only  safety  for  ourselves, 
our  only  security  for  the  preservation  of  the  Church,  our 
only  hope  that  we  shall  be  the  saving  element  in  the 
world  is  that  we  ourselves  should  retain  the  savor  of  a 
holy  faith  and  holy  life,  keeping  us  in  communion  with 
our  Holy  Lord.  Ye!  Ye  I  Keep  the  emphasis  upon 
this  word,  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth." 

III.  A  third  lesson  which  we  may  learn  from  this 
natural  symbol  concerns  the  Method  of  Christian  Saving. 

How  docs  salt  fulfill  its  office  of  savoring  and  preserv- 
ing? It  is  laid  upon  the  object,  it  dissolves  into  the 
animal  fluids,  it  melts  away  out  of  sight  and  pervades  the 
whole  tissues  with  its  curative,  preservative  qualities. 
Put  a  few  grains  of  table  salt  into  a  dish  of  broth.  It  is 
distributed  silently  and  .swiftly  throughout  the  whole. 
It  reaches  every  drop  of  the  fluid  mass.  It  cannot  be 
seen,  but  it  can  be  tasted. 

It  is  often  thus  that  Christianity  operates  in  benefit- 
ing human  life  and  preserving  the  health  of  society.       It 


THE  SALT  OF  THE  EARTH.  341 

is  a  hidden  power,  working  not  in  the  broad  glare  of  ob- 
servation, but  silently  entering  the  hidden  openings  and 
disseminating  itself  secretly.  There  are  some  Christians 
at  least  who  find  comfort  in  such  a  reflection.  They 
know  that  their  work  is  not  lost  to  the  world,  not  for- 
gotten of  God  because  it  is  not  wrought  in  the  eye  of 
day.  When  Joshua  had  led  the  tribes  of  Israel  across 
the  river  Jordan  he  gave  commandment  that  a  stone 
memorial  should  be  erected  upon  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
each  tribe  contributing  its  portion  to  the  monument. 
Then  the  waves  of  the  Jordan  flowed  back  and  covered 
it  out  of  sight.  The  stream  rolled  on  and  rolls  on. 
What  good  could  such  a  memorial  as  that  do  ?  Who 
could  see  it  there  buried  under  Jordan's  wave?  And 
yet  it  was  there.  There  it  was  known  to  be.  There 
God  could  see  it.  No  matter  though  Jordan  might  flow 
with  so  muddy  a  flood  *as  to  justify  Naaman's  sneer 
when  comparing  it  with  the  limpid  streams  of  Damascus. 
No  matter  how  fiercely  and  high  its  waves  might  roll 
when  the  freshets  of  spring  swept  down  its  overflowing 
channel.  The  eye  of  God  beheld  the  hidden  memo- 
rial, and  knowing  the  purpose  of  his  people's  hearts  in 
placing  it  there,  He  accepted  the  offering  and  was  well 
pleased. 

Why  should  the  Holy  of  holies  in  the  Jewish  temple, 
that  most  sacred  part  of  the  sanctuary,  have  been  deco- 
rated and  well  nigh  covered  with  gold  ?  Nobody  ever 
saw  it  except  the  high  priest  who  entered  it  for  a  brief 
moment  or  two  once  a  year.  But  it  was  there  in  the 
presence  of  God.  Its  beauty  and  value  were  offerings 
unto  Him ;  and  was  it  not  enough  for  the  devout  spirits 
who  made  the  offerings  to  know  that  God  did  see,  and 
was  satisfied  with  the  honor  paid  Him  ? 

We  look  at  our  own  beautiful  sanctuary  and  admire 
its  graceful  proportions  and  stately  architecture.  Our 
eyes  run  along  the  line  of  visible  blocks  of  hewn  granite 
and  carved  limestone  with  well-pleased  glance.  But 
these  exterior  blocks  form  but  a  little  part  of  the  tem- 
ple. True,  they  are  all  that  we  see,  but  behind  them 
within  the  walls,  and  beneath  them  in  the  mighty  foun- 
dations, hidden  out  of  sight  and  never  to  be  seen,  are 


342  THE  GOSPEL  IX  X.  1  Tl  'RE. 

those  humble  rocks  that  make  up  the  bod}-  of  both 
foundation  and  walls.  Why  should  any  one  think  that 
because  he  is  out  of  sight,  his  influence  counts  for  noth- 
ing? God  has  compared  all  Christian  souls  to  "  living 
stones  "  in  the  temple  of  His  salvation.  If  you  be  among 
those  living  stones  that  lie  in  the  foundations  and  form 
the  very  kernel  and  heart  of  the  wall,  are  you  any  less 
the  Lord's?    Are  you  any  the  less  serving  the  Lord  ? 

Why,  also  we  may  ask,  should  any  one  think  because 
he  happens  to  have  his  place  in  the  outer  and  visible 
arrangement  of  these  living  stones,  that  he  is  better  or 
more  useful  than  those  who  are  not  seen  and  known  of 
men?  Nay,  Christian  friends,  let  us  remember  always 
that  he  who  works  in  silence  and  retirement,  who  faith- 
fully does  his  duty  as  in  the  sight  of  God,  without  fear 
or  favor  of  men,  counts  as  much  as  any  other  in  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  for  the  glory  of  God.  At  all  events 
it  is  ours  to  drop  where  the  Master  puts  us,  and  there 
abide  while  He  bids  us,  using  all  the  power  He  gives  and 
diffusing  our  influence  silently,  savingly,  continually. 
Thus,  in  the  method  as  well  as  the  quality  of  our  savor- 
ing, we  shall  be  as  "  the  salt  of  the  earth." 

IV.  A  fourth  lesson  from 'the  salt  points  to  the  Saving 
and  Savoring  Influence  of  Christianity. 

It  is  quite  as  true  of  material  saving  as  of  spiritual 
salvation  that  Christians  are  the  salt  of  the  earth.  Had 
there  been  ten  righteous  men  in  Sodom  the  Lord  would 
have  spared  that  city  for  the  ten's  sake.  No  doubt  the 
condition  which  could  not  then  be  met  has  often  since 
been  the  ground  for  preserving  communities  and  cities. 
We  shall  never  know,  until  eternity  uncovers  the  fact  to 
us,  how  greatly  the  presence  of  God's  people  has  been 
the  means  of  diverting  judgments  and  calamities  from 
men.  At  the  origin  of  Christianity  the  world  was  in  a 
peculiar  condition.  The  nations  which  had  theretofore 
dominated  the  race  were  in  a  condition  of  decay.  The 
then  known  world  was  embraced  within  the  Roman  Em- 
pire, and  the  outlying  nations,  although  subdued  by  the 
iron  hand  of  their  Roman  masters,  were  tied  in  loose  affin- 
ity to  the  central  government.     Rome  itself  was  under- 


THE  SALT  OF  THE  EARTH.  343 

going  a  decline  which  was  rapidly  accelerating  with  each 
decade  of  time.  The  received  religions  of  the  old  world 
were  fast  losing  their  hold  upon  human  faith.  The 
minds  of  men  were  completely  unsettled  as  to  the  nature 
and  obligation  of  religion  and  the  verity  of  immortality. 
Then  came  Christianity  with  its  positive  truths,  its  con- 
ditions of  absolute  obedience  and  surrender,  its  un- 
troubled outlook  into  the  future,  and  unquenchable  con- 
fidence in  God's  love  for  the  miserable  and  gift  of  a 
happy  immortality  to  the  believing.  It  formed  a  rally- 
ing centre  for  the  best  elements  of  mankind  in  every  na- 
tion of  the  Roman  Empire.  In  the  crash  and  convul- 
sions of  the  ensuing  ages,  when  everything  good  seemed 
buried  under  the  general  ruin  and  the  race  appeared 
lost,  Christianity  saved  society  from  total  wreckage. 
Around  it  as  a  principle  of  life  gathered  all  the  salvable 
elements  of  the  world,  and  out  of  the  ruins  there  rose 
slowly,  steadily,  and  at  last  with  mightily  accelerated 
vigor  that  colossal  power,  the  Church  of  Jesus,  which 
ever  since  has  maintained  a  dominating  influence  with- 
in the  circles  of  civilized  men.  Thus  Christianity  saved 
society  in  the  primitive  centuries  of  our  era. 

There  was  a  period  when  the  Latin  Church  saved  soci- 
ety. Perhaps  it  may  be  said  with  too  much  of  truth,  that 
it  was  largely  responsible  for  that  condition  which  de- 
manded a  saving.  Be  that  as  it  may,  during  the  Middle 
Ages  kings  and  nobles,  inflated  with  their  idea  of  ruler- 
ship  by  divine  right,  utterly  ignored  the  common  people 
and  used  them  like  the  stones  before  their  castle  gates, 
or  the  bridge  over  the  castle  moat,  as  mere  stepping 
stones  and  approaches  to  their  own  selfish  ambition, 
pleasures,  and  enrichment.  In  that  period  the  power  of 
the  Pope  and  the  clergy  interposed  between  the  people  and 
their  oppressors  and  saved  society  from  the  destruction 
which  threatened  from  the  abuses  of  the  feudal  system. 
It  was  well  for  the  world  to  know  that  there  was  a  power 
greater  even  than  tyrant  kings  and  cruel  barons.  It  was 
well  for  society  to  feel  the  force  of  a  spiritual  influence, 
to  listen  to  a  voice  that  claimed  to  be  of  God,  and  learn 
to  recognize  the  rulership  of  conscience  and  heaven.  It 
was  well  for  society,  yes,  its  very  salvation — that  this 


344  T1I1':  C'OSPEL  IN  NA  Tl  RE. 

strong  influence  speaking  in  the  name  of  God  was 
exercised  in  behalf  of  the  masses  of  mankind.  It  is  true, 
that  oftentimes  this  was  done  not  through  a  gentle  ruth 
and  holy  love,  but  simply  from  an  ambitious  policy 
which  sided  with  the  commons  in  order  to  play  them  as 
a  check  against  nobles  and  kings.  But  God  overruled 
the  wrath  of  man  to  his  praise,  and  even  with  main-  un- 
lawful ambitions,  selfish  policies,  and  corrupt  administra- 
tions, the  Church  of  Rome  became  a  savoring  element, 
and  rescued  the  race  from  a  destruction  into  which  titled 
tyrants  were  riding  it  under  whip  and  spur. 

Soon  the  tide  turned.  Christianity  became  a  govern- 
ment not  a  Gospel,  a  ritual  not  a  Voice,  a  system  not  a 
Salvation,  a  policy  not  a  Religion,  a  party  not  a  Catholic 
Faith.  The  Church  lost  its  grip  upon  conscience,  and 
held  men  by  their  fears.  Its  rulers  became  corrupt, — 
the  salt  had  lost  its  savor,  and  once  more  general  decay 
seemed  to  threaten  the  human  raee.  Again  Christianity 
interposed.  Luther  the  monk  o\~  Erfurth  came  forth 
from  his  Augustinian  monastery;  touched  with  one  hand 
the  throne  of  Omnipotence,  and  with  the  other  the  heart 
of  that  " invisible  Church"  which  ever  survives  amidst 
the  visible  Kingdom  of  Christ.  Once  more  the  saving 
salt  was  thrown  into  the  fountains  of  learning  and  of 
common  life,  and  the  healing  streams  of  the  Reformation 
rolled  through  the  earth  bearing  upon  theirbroad,  health- 
giving  currents  the  hopes,  thoughts,  faiths,  forces  that 
have  made  this  new  Christendom  that  now  reigns  in  the 
midst  of  a  rediscovered  world. 

Thus  it  has  always  been,  and  thus  it  is  to-day.  The 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  salt  of  the  earth.  It  lias 
sweetened  and  purified  the  fountains  of  human  life  and 
caused  the  lands  through  which  it  flows  to  put  forth 
beaut\-  and  fruitfulness.  This  is  the  truth  which  inspires 
the  efforts  of  the  Church  to  send  the  Gospel  to  the 
uttermost  bounds  of  earth.  We  believe  that  the  world 
needs  Christianity,  that  there  is  nothing  to  take  its  place 
— nothing  that  can  savor  society  and  stay  the  progress 

of  decay  except  th.it  holy  faith  which  has  made  Our  own 
lives  sweet  with  holy  obedience  ami  bright  with  the  hope 

i<\    I  leaven. 


THE  SAL  T  OF  THE  EAR  TH.  345 

Stop  !  Do  not  let  your  thought  concerning  the  aggre- 
gate divert  you  from  the  individual.  You  need  saving 
also,  do  you  not  ?  Yes,  that  is  a  real  necessity  with 
every  soul.  Did  not  Jesus  always  deal  with  souls  from 
that  viewpoint  ?  Yes  !  He  ever  took  it  for  granted ; 
He  often  declared  it;  He  put  it  within  the  very  tex- 
ture of  all  his  speech  and  conduct  as  an  awful  fact  not 
to  be  questioned,  never  to  be  concealed.  "  The  Son  of 
man  came  to  seek  and  save  that  which  is  lost."  The 
lost  sheep  of  the  shepherd,  the  lost  coin  of  the  house- 
wife, the  lost  son  of  the  good  father,  the  lost  soul  of  the 
rich  man — these  are  facts  which  Jesus  dealt  with  in  seri- 
ous, loving,  pitying  faithfulness.  What  did  He  mean? 
I  do  not  know.  You  are  lost !  You  need  saving !  I 
know  that ;  I  know  that  Christ  is  here  to-day  to  save 
you.  Do  you  ask,  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
"  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved!"  This  is  the  one  answer  for  all  time,  for  all 
souls,  for  you  ! 

V.  Finally,  we  may  learn  from  our  text  the  Saving 
Power  of  Christ. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  salt  of  commerce  is 
prepared  by  evaporation  of  sea-water  through  artificial 
means.  But  the  more  primitive  method  was  wholly  de- 
pendent upon  the  fervor  of  the  sun's  rays.  That  primi- 
tive method  indeed  has  provided  for  us  the  chief  sup- 
plies which  furnish  the  salt  of  commerce.  The  rock  salt 
found  imbedded  within  the  earth,  and  which  is  so  exten- 
sively mined  for  domestic  use,  bears  evidence  of  having 
been  formed  by  the  evaporation  of  lakes  or  seas  at  for- 
mer and  perhaps  remote  geological  periods.  The  char- 
acter of  the  crystals  themselves,  the  stratified  nature  of 
the  deposits  with  their  interposed  beds  of  clay,  and  the 
marine  shells  often  occurring  abundantly  in  the  sur- 
rounding rocks  of  contemporary  periods,  all  point  to 
this  simple  solution  of  the  presence  of  such  vast  quan- 
tities of  rock  salt.  The  ancient  convulsions  of  the  soil 
that  shut  off  great  bays  or  arms  of  the  sea  from  the  gen- 
eral ocean,  and  left  their  waters  in  vast  natural  salt-pans 
to  evaporate  beneath  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  action 


346  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NATURE. 

of  the  winds,  have  produced  for  us  the  masses  of  min- 
eral salt. 

Thus  we  have  one  more  blessing  to  add  to  the  sum  of 
indebtedness  due  to  that  venerable  friend  of  man,  the 
sun.  You  already  discern  the  trend  of  our  metaphor. 
Who  is  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  who  rises  upon  this 
earth  of  ours  with  healing  in  his  wings?  It  is  the  Lord 
Jesus!  Well  we  know  that  it  is  by  the  power  of  Jesus 
Christ  alone  that  they  who  are  of  the  faith  are  separated 
from  an  unbelieving  world  and  thus  become  in  truth,  as 
Christ  has  called  them,  the  salt  of  the  earth.  "  By  the 
grace  of  God,"  said  St.  Paul,  "  I  am  what  I  am."*  So 
every  Christian  says.  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord!  not  unto 
us,  but  unto  thy  Name  be  all  the  glory. 

Sinners  !  whose  love  can  ne'er  forget 

The  wormwood  and  the  gall, 
Go  spread  your  trophies  at  His  feet, 

And  crown  him  Lord  of  All ! 

Still  shines  that  Sun  of  Love  upon  this  ocean  of  hu- 
manity seething  and  rolling  in  sin  and  death.  Still  the 
power  of  Christ  is  exerted  to  separate  you,  and  all  who 
will  yield  to  the  power  of  his  grace,  from  the  elements  of 
destruction,  that  you  may  become  not  only  one  of  the 
saved,  but  one  of  those  who.  as  true  salt  of  the  earth, 
shall  savor  others. 

A  religious  significance  was  very  earl}-  attached  to 
salt,  a  substance  so  highly  prized  and  often  obtained 
with  so  much  difficulty.  Homer  called  salt  "divine." 
Plato  named  it  a  "substance  dear  to  the  gods."  As 
covenants  were  ordinarily  made  over  a  sacrificial  meal  in 
which  salt  was  a  necessary  element,  the  expression  "a 
covenant  of  salt ''f  meant  an  agreement  consecrated  by 
sacrifice  and  therefore  sacred.  The  preservative  quali- 
ties ^f  salt  were  held  to  make  it  a  peculiar  and  fitting 
symbol  of  an  enduring  compact,  and  influenced  the 
choice  of  this  particular  element  of  the  covenant  meal  as 
that  which  was  regarded  as  sealing  an  obligation  to 
fidelity.      Among  the  ancients  and  among    the  Orientals 

at  the  present  day,  every  meal  that  included  salt  had  a 

*I.  Cor.  xv.  io.     t  Num.  xviii 


THE  SAL  T  OF  THE  EAR  TH  347 

certain  sacred  character,  and  created  a  bond  of  piety  and 
guest  friendship  between  the  participants. 

Christians  who  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  are  witnesses 
to  that  sacrifice  of  Calvary  by  which  God's  covenant 
love  was  established  and  completed  for  the  redemption 
of  a  lost  world.  Every  Church  of  Jesus  abiding  under 
this  covenant,  proclaims  God's  faithfulness  in  Christ's 
sacrifice.  Every  believer  who  hopes  that  he  has  been 
saved  by  divine  grace  bears  testimony  before  all  who 
know  him  of  the  power  of  that  Sacrifice,  the  endurance 
of  that  covenant,  and  the  unbroken  fidelity  of  that 
promise  by  which  salvation  is  brought  to  men.  Oh 
impenitent  souls,  receive  this  testimony!  Listen  to  the 
voice  of  this  witnessing.  Let  every  believing  soul  res- 
cued from  the  power  of  sin,  be  an  encouragement  and 
call  to  yield  to  the  separating  Force  of  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  and  Love,  and  ally  yourselves  with  those 
who  shall  be  among  the  saved,  and  will  join  with  the 
saved  to  be  "  the  salt  of  the  earth." 


LECTURE    XIX. 


A  Mans  Natural  Right 
to  Own  Land. 

"And  thou  hast  said  unto  me,  O  Lord  God,  Buy 
'thee  the  field  for  money  and  call  witnesses." — Jere- 
miah xxxii.    25. 


A  MAN'S  NATURAL  RIGHT  TO  OWN  LAND. 


Simple  truth  and  justice  require  me  to  dispel  from 
your  minds  at  the  very  outset  the  confusion  which 
exists  as  to  the  relative  character  and  standing  of  An- 
archists and  Communists.  With  the  theories  of  Anarch- 
ists we  can  have  no  measure  of  sympathy.  Their 
banner  cry  is  the  destruction  of  all  government,  the 
annihilation  of  all  the  old  sacred  faiths,  laws  and  cus- 
toms of  society.  But  this  is  not  true  of  all  communists. 
There  is  a  philosophy  of  Communism  which  is  worthy 
at  least  of  our  respect.  It  has  had  many  forms  which 
have  illustrated  the  law,  the  power  and  spirit  of  our 
divine  Lord ; — many  advocates  whose  characters  have 
been  beautiful  and  whose  lives  have  been  holy  and  useful. 
It  is  a  most  ancient  philosophy  and,  as  we  shall  presently 
see,  has  characterized  a  most  ancient  form  of  govern- 
ment. The  common  right  of  the  people  to  the  land, 
and  the  common  usage  thereof  by  the  people,  are  as  old 
as  the  patriarchs  of  Bible  story ;  and  some  of  those  who 
urge  this  principle  and  policy  of  government,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  are  simply  desirous  of  remanding  humanity  to 
the  estate  of  the  patriarchs.  Their  ideal  government  is 
the  patriarchal  government,  a  tribal  government,  and  no 
one  can  truthfully  or  seriously  affirm,  certainly  no  be- 
liever  in  the  Bible  can  do  so,  that  such  a  policy  and  such 
advocates  are  necessarily  mischievous,  unchristian  and 
wrong. 

Moreover,  it  ought  to  be  a  matter  of  sincere  satisfac- 
tion and  congratulation  instead  of  the  contrary,  on  the 
part  of  those  who  believe  that  Communism  even  in  its 
purest  form  is  impolitic  and  destructive  of  modern  civil- 
ization, that  the  discussion  of  the  underlying  principles 
at  issue  has  passed  from  the  lips  of  ignorant  men,  de- 
signing and  self-seeking  charlatans  and  demagogues,  to 
men  whose  character  for  purity,  honesty  and  sincerity 

(351) 


352  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

of  purpose  and  desire  to  benefit  mankind  are  beyond 
question.  I  hail  with  pleasure,  and  not  with  regret,  the 
fact  that  there  has  recently  stood  amongst  us  as  an  ad- 
vocate of  these  views  a  learned  gentleman,  a  clergyman 
of  a  venerable  communion,  whose  character  and  career 
have  heretofore  highly  illustrated  the  virtues  of  the  man 
and  the  minister.  While  the  leaders  of  Communism  are 
men  such  as  he,  we  may  all  be  inspired  with  the  hope 
that  the  issue  shall  be  remanded  from  the  sphere  of  mere 
brute  conflict,  to  the  loftier  and  nobler  arena  of  intel- 
lectual discussion  and  moral  truth.  There  let  us  seek 
to  keep  it.  The  question  must  be  met.  We  cannot  put 
down  by  the  strong  hand  of  cruelty  the  men  who  hold 
to  Communism  in  land,  even  though  they  be  mistaken. 
Mere  dogmatism,  threats,  assertion  and  reassertion  will 
not  prevail.  We  must  convince  the  judgment,  if  not  of 
those  already  enlisted,  at  least  of  the  multitude  who  are 
turning  now  an  open  ear  to  the  witchery  of  their  enti- 
cing theories.  Under  a  profound  conviction  that  this  is 
the  duty  of  the  leaders  of  thought,  I  have  purposed  this 
day  to  consider  the  subject  of  the  right  of  individuals 
to  own  land. 

The  fundamental  principle  of  Communism  is  that  land 
belongs  to  the  people,  and  that  it  should  be  held  by  the 
government  of  the  people  for  the  people's  use  and  be- 
hoof without  distribution  to  individuals  to  be  held  by 
them  in  fee.  In  other  words,  that  the  ownership  of  land 
is  a  natural  and  common  right,  like  the  ownership  of 
sunlight,  air  and  water. 

To  justify  the  opinion  expressed  that  those  who  hold 
such  views  are  entitled  to  consideration,  I  would  simply 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  one  form  or  another  the 
doctrine  forms  the  basis  of  many  of  our  laws  regarding 
the  tenure  of  land.  In  our  own  country  a  vast  quantity 
of  the  land,  "the  public  domain,"  belongs  to  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  greater  portion  of  that  now  held  by  indi- 
viduals was  originally  distributed  by  the  Government. 
The  Homestead  Law  grants  in  severalty  to  every  actual 
settler  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  this  common  do- 
main. The  first  settlers  in  New  England  carried  with 
them  the  idea  of  the  village  commune.     They  decreed 


A  MAN'S  NATURAL  RIGHT  TO  OWN  LAND.    353 

a  grant  of  land  to  each  householder  to  the  extent  of 
twenty  acres.  Of  the  rest  of  the  land  a  portion  was  to 
be  held  in  common.  The  right  of  "eminent  domain" 
pertains  to  the  General  Government,  and  indeed,  to  the 
local  State  Government,  by  which  any  property  may  be 
seized  and  set  apart  for  common  use.  We  hold  in 
Philadelphia  a  large  portion  of  the  land  in  common,  for 
the  streets  belong  to  the  people  for  egress  and  ingress 
from  and  to  their  own  homes,  and  for  carrying  out  the 
common  purposes  of  human  life.  The  city  may  le- 
gally and  often  does  condemn  lands,  burial  places, 
houses,  churches  to  the  common  use  in  order  to  estab- 
lish roadways.  Our  squares  and  parks  are  held  in  com- 
mon for  the  use,  entertainment  and  invigoration  of  all 
the  people. 

We  recognize  this  idea  in  those  laws  that  prohibit  or 
limit  the  right  of  entailing  property,  the  law  against 
accumulations,  the  law  forbidding  perpetuities.  In 
Great  Britain  this  principle  is  very  strongly  exhibited  in 
the  land  laws.  In  fact,  it  is  an  undisputed  maxim  of 
English  as  well  as  of  Scottish  law  that  the  sovereign  is 
supreme  lord  of  all  the  land.  It  is  an  unquestionable 
legal  rule  that  there  is  no  such  thing  in  the  British 
system  as  an  absolute  private  right  of  property  in 
land,  but  that  the  State  alone  is  vested  with  that 
right,  and  concedes  to  the  individual  possessor  only  a 
strictly  defined  subordinate  right  subject  to  conditions 
from  time  to  time  imposed  by  the  community.  The 
nearest  approach  to  private  property  permitted  by  the 
laws  of  Scotland  is  that  by  which  "  subordinate  vas- 
sals"  may  convey  themselves  into  "direct  vassals" 
of  the  crown.  Among  the  Celtic  tribes  of  Ireland 
and  the  Scottish  clans,  even  down  to  modern  times,  land 
was  the  possession  of  the  tribe  or  the  clan.  The 
chief  was  the  leader,  but  not  the  owner.  In  our  own 
day  and  country  this  nation  has  recognized  time  and 
again  this  principle  of  village  or  tribal  communes  in  its 
treaties  with  the  various  Indian  nations.  So  that  this  law 
is  a  part  of  our  legal  system  in  so  far  as  it  applies  to  the 
aborigines  of  the  soil.  In  view  of  such  facts  we  must 
recognize  the  truth  that  there  is  much  in  history  and  law 


354  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

to  be  said  for  the  fundamental  principle  of  modern  com- 
munism. Thus  much  being  granted,. let  us  turn  to  the 
question  whether  it  be  contrary  to  natural  justice  for  the 
individual  to  become  possessor  of  land  in  fee,  that  is  as 
his  property,  to  be  held  and  handed  down  to  his  heirs  ? 

I.  First,  then,  it  maybe  claimed  that  natural  justice 
bears  at  least  as  strongly  in  favor  of  individual  as  of 
communal  tenure  of  land,  and  that  in  the  controversy 
human  and  Divine  law  must  settle  the  question  of 
right. 

It  is  affirmed  that  individual  right  in  property  is  con- 
trary to  natural  justice.  It  is  affirmed  with  the  same 
breath  that  the  community,  village,  state  or  nation  may 
and  should  parcel  out  the  land  to  its  citizens  according 
to  the  various  necessities  of  the  same ;  these  homes  and 
lands  to  be  held  simply  at  the  will  of  the  Government. 
In  short,  individual  citizens  become  tenants-at-will  of 
the  aggregate  of  citizens,  which  is  the  State.  But  it 
seems  to  me  that  natural  justice  is  as  surely  violated  by 
communal  as  by  individual  land  ownership.  It  simply 
changes  the  scale,  not  the  essential  principle,  to  vest  the 
tenure  in  a  village  or  state  commune.  For  Nature  is 
not  communistic,  but  cosmopolitan.  Does  not  natural 
justice  declare,  with  equal  force,  that  when  a  govern- 
ment of  American  citizens  shall  have  thus  adjusted  the 
communal  property,  there  may  come  from  across  the 
sea  a  million  of  exiled  Englishmen  and  Irishmen  and 
assert  their  right  to  share  with  those  already  in  posses- 
sion ?  Why  should  not  natural  justice  give  them  a 
share?  for  they,  too,  are  men,  and  Nature  includes  all 
men.  When  our  English  and  Irish  friends  are  thus 
settled,  what  again  shall  hinder  an  irruption  of  the  peo- 
ples of  Northern  Europe,  the  Germanic  nations  that 
flocked  of  old  to  Italy,  from  crossing  the  sea  and  mak- 
ing the  same  claim  of  partition  of  property  on  the 
ground  of  natural  justice?  For,  are  they  not  men? 
And  Nature  is  as  broad  as  humanity.  Still  further, 
what  is  to  hinder  the  hordes  of  China  from  flocking 
across  the  Pacific  Sea  through  the  Golden  Gate  and 
over  the  Transcontinental  Railways,  and  making  a  like 


A  MAN'S  NA  TURAL  RIGHT  TO  O  WN  LAND.     355 

demand  of  Irish,  English,  German,  and  American  occu- 
pants of  the  soil  ?  If  our  standard  be  so-called  natural 
justice,  interpreted  by  the  canons  of  communism,  is  it 
not  manifest  that  the  laws  controlling  property  must  be 
made  as  broad  as  Nature,  and  so  take  in  the  whole  race  ? 
Is  it  not  manifest  to  the  least  logical  mind  that  a  law 
which  limits  the  partition  of  land  for  usage  and  occupa- 
tion to  the  citizens  of  any  nation,  State,  or  community 
has  just  as  clearly  violated  the  law  of  "natural  justice" 
as  have  those  nations  and  people  who  dispose  of  their 
sovereignty  in  the  land  for  a  consideration  to  families  or 
individuals,  to  be  held  as  theirs  in  fee?  If  Citizen 
Smith  may  not  justly  own  a  house  or  farm  for  himself, 
his  family  and  heirs,  with  what  color  of  natural  justice 
may  forty  Citizens  Smith  form  a  corporation  or  com- 
mune and  own  houses  and  lands  for  themselves,  their 
families  and  heirs,  as  against  all  the  rest  of  the  human 
race  ? 

In  a  case  such  as  we  have  supposed  where  shall  the 
limit  come  ?  Would  not  the  inevitable  result  of  such  a 
reign  of  communism  be  to  remand  man  to  the  savage  es- 
tate where  the  law  of  the  mightiest  and  the  most  numer- 
ous prevails?  Would  it  not  give  strong  nations  and 
the  most  populous  nations  the  right  to  unsettle  and  de- 
stroy from  the  face  of  the  earth  the  weak  or  sparse  peo- 
ples ? 

There  is  a  law  of  natural  justice  which  is  sanctioned 
also  by  the  law  of  the  Holy  God,  that  reads  thus,  "  He 
that  provideth  not  for  his  own,  especially  those  of  his 
own  household,  has  denied  the  faith  and  is  worse  than 
an  infidel."*  Nature  in  man  compels  him  to  secure  for 
himself,  his  wife  and  offspring  a  retreat  that  shall  be  in- 
deed a  refuge  against  the  injustice,  selfishness,  aggres- 
sions, the  ignorance  or  misfortunes  of  their  fellows. 
There  is  nothing  in  this  law  when  rightly  used  and  not 
abused  that  hinders  him  from  the  largest  charity  and 
consideration  for  his  fellow-men.  For  the  same  Divine 
Spirit  that  gave  this  law,  based  upon  Nature,  gave  also 
another  law,  "As  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you, 
do  ye  also  to  them  likewise."f 


I.  Tim.  v.  S.     |  Luke  vi. 


3i- 


356  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

II.  Second,  we  find  this  right  strongly  implied,  at 
least,  in  the  Original  Constitution  bestowed  on  man  by 
his  Creator  when  he  was  placed  in  possession  of  the 
earth.  "And  God  blessed  them  ;  and  God  said  unto 
them,  be  fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth, 
and  subdue  it ;  and  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the 
sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  every  living 
thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth."  :|: 

There  is  no  question,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  of  the  right 
of  men  to  individual  property  in  the  beasts,  the  only  lim- 
itation being  those  conditions  which  Nature  has  imposed. 
For  example,  personal  ownership  of  the  horse,  ox,  sheep, 
dog,  camel,  chicken,  goose,  duck  and  other  creatures 
classed  as  domestic  animals  has  never  been  questioned. 
Is  there  any  living  man  to-day  who  would  venture  to 
rise  in  the  midst  of  this  or  any  other  community  to  ques- 
tion the  absolute  right  of  the  carter  or  drayman  to  his 
horse,  or  the  farmer  to  his  herds  and  flocks;  to  dispose 
of  them  and  their  products  according  to  his  will  ?  Who 
would  challenge  the  laws  that  secure  men  in  their  own- 
ership of  these  creatures  ?  The  wild  animals  and  wild 
fowls,  it  is  true,  are  not  protected  by  law  as  property 
except  when  they  are  killed  in  lawful  chase  and  in  those 
lands  where  parks  and  preserves  for  game  are  maintain- 
ed. We  exercise  and  claim  no  owership  of  the  wasp, 
the  mosquito  or  the  spider,  for  these  have  never  yet 
been  utilized  by  man  for  his  service,  but  among  insects 
the  bee  and  silk  moth  become  property,  because  they 
have  been  made  useful  servants  of  the  human  race. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  the  analogy  here  holds  good. 

If  we  can  claim  rightfully  that  the  divine  constitution, 
by  which  man  was  made  natural  lord  of  the  beasts  of 
forest  and  field,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air,  gave  him  per- 
sonal ownership  of  those  creatures,  by  parity  of  reason- 
ing the  same  constitution  gives  him  like  property  rights 
in  the  earth,  which  these  creatures  inhabit,  and  which  at 
the  same  time  was  bestowed  upon  him  to  subdue  and 
rule.  The  only  limitation  must  be  the  power  of  man  to 
subdue  beneath  his  law  and  hand.  If  we  be  told  that  the 
land  is  a  natural  gift  of  God,  like  the  ocean  highways,  the 

*Gen.  i.  28. 


A  MAN'S  NA  TURAL  RIGHT  TO  O  WN  LAND.       357 

air  and  sunlight,  we  answer  that  man  cannot  subdue  and 
portion  the  great  seas,  the  air  of  heaven,  and  the  sun- 
light, but  he  can  subdue,  and  parcel,  and  possess  the 
land.  Just  as  Natural  Justice,  and  the  instincts  of  hu- 
man nature,  and  the  outcome  of  human  nature  in  its 
long  experience,  justify  him  in  casting  the  segis  of  own- 
ership over  those  creatures  who  can  be  subdued  to 
domestic  use,  while  those  who  cannot  be  are  left  as  out- 
lawed, so  land  which  can  be  held  and  possessed  by  him, 
may  lawfully,  justly  and  naturally  become  his  for  indi- 
vidual holding  and  use. 

But  we  do  not  stop  with  this  reasoning,  strong  as  it  is, 
by  analogy  and  inference  from  the  original  natural  con- 
ditions of  man's  inauguration  as  chief  magistrate  of  the 
earth.  We  pass  on  to  show  that  the  divine  constitution 
was  early  recognized  by  the  patriarchs  and  fathers  of  the 
faith,  and  has  the  fullest  sanction  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
speaking  in  the  word  of  God. 

III.  We  find  individual  ownership  of  land  at  the  very 
Beginning  of  Commercial  Life  as  recorded  by  the  Scrip- 
tures. 

The  first  account  of  an  actual  purchase  and  sale 
recorded  in  the  Scripture  is  the  purchase  of  a  plot  of 
ground  by  Abraham.  "And  Abraham  hearkened  unto 
Ephron  ;  and  Abraham  weighed  to  Ephron  the  silver, 
which  he  had  named  in  the  audience  of  the  children  of 
Heth,  four  hundred  shekels  of  silver,  current  money 
with  the  merchant.  So  the  field  of  Ephron,  which  was 
in  Machpelah,  which  was  before  Mamre,  the  field  and 
the  cave  which  was  therein,  and  all  the  trees  that  were 
in  the  field,  that  were  in  all  the  border  thereof  round- 
about, were  made  sure  unto  Abraham  for  a  possession 
in  the  presence  of  the  children  of  Heth,  before  all  that 
went  in  at  the  gate  of  his  city."*  In  this  glance  at  the 
condition  of  land  tenure  in  primitive  times  we  observe 
two  facts :  the  first,  that  the  common  possession  of  land 
evidently  obtained  amongst  the  children  of  Heth;  sec- 
ond, that  this  did  not  prevent  them  from  absolute  sale 
of  a  portion  to  Abraham  to  be  held  by  him  and  his  suc- 
cessors for  the  uses  to  which  it  was  devoted. 


*Gen.  xxiii.  16-18. 


358  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

It  is  a  touching  and  significant  expression  of  a  natural 
sentiment  which  has  dominated  men  in  every  age,  that 
the  first  example  of  barter  and  ownership  in  land  should 
have  been  that  of  a  sepulchre  for  the  beloved  dead.  Are 
we  prepared  at  this  date  to  raise  the  question,  Has  a 
man  a  right  to  own  a  grave  ? 

IV.  Again,  a  study  of  the  Agrarian  Laws  of  Moses 
clearly  shows  as  a  part  of  Hebrew  jurisprudence  the 
principle  of  individual  ownership  of  land. 

After  a  long  period  of  bondage  in  Egypt  Moses  was 
commissioned  by  God  to  lead  out  the  Israelites  from 
their  land  of  bondage  to  the  land  of  promise.  When 
the  land  had  been  conquered  by  Joshua  it  was  divided 
among  the  people  by  allotment.  An  enumeration  of  the 
Hebrew  yeomen  showed  that  there  were  six  hundred 
and  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty  persons  who 
were  entitled  to  an  allotment.  "And  the  Lord  spake 
unto  Moses,  saying,  Unto  these  the  land  shall  be  divided 
for  an  inheritance  according  to  the  number  of  names. 
To  the  more  thou  shalt  give  the  more  inheritance,  and 
to  the  fewer  thou  shalt  give  the  less  inheritance  ;  to  every 
one  according  to  those  that  were  numbered  of  him  shall 
his  inheritance  be  given."  ;:  This  land  the  people  held 
independent  of  all  temporal  superiors  by  direct  tenure 
from  Jehovah  their  Sovereign. 

This  right  was  established  and  secured  in  perpetuity 
by  a  remarkable  law  known  popularly  as  the  law  of  the 
year  of  Jubilee.  On  every  Sabbatic  year,  if  the  land  had 
been  alienated  from  the  possessor,  it  was  to  revert  to  the 
families  which  originally  possessed  it.  "Then  shalt  thou 
send  abroad  the  loud  trumpet  on  the  tenth  day  of  the 
seventh  month,  in  the  day  of  atonement  shall  ye  send 
abroad  the  trumpet  throughout  your  land.  And  ye 
shall  hallow  the  fiftieth  year,  and  proclaim  liberty 
throughout  the  land  unto  all  the  inhabitants  thereof:  it 
shall  be  a  jubilee  unto  you  ;  and  ye  shall  return  every 
man  unto  his  possession,  and  ye  shall  return  every  man 
unto  his  family.  A  jubilee  shall  that  fiftieth  year  be 
unto   you;   ye  shall   not   sow,   neither    reap  that  which 

*  Num.  xxvi.  52-54. 


A  MAN'S  NATURAL  RIGHT  TO  OWN  LAND.      359 

groweth  of  itself  in  it,  nor  gather  the  grapes  in  it  of  the 
undressed  vines."* 

The  purpose  of  this  law  doubtless  was  to  maintain  the 
perpetuity  of  land  in  small  holdings  among  the  people. 
It  was  a  guard  against  monopoly;  a  law  in  favor  of 
equality  in  land  tenure.  To  render  this  equality  solid 
and  lasting  the  tenure  was  made  inalienable,  and  the 
estates  thus  originally  settled  upon  every  family  were  to 
descend  by  an  indefeasible  entail  in  perpetual  succession. 
Certainly  it  had  the  tendency  to  equalize  possessions 
among  the  people,  making  extreme  poverty  and  over- 
grown riches  alike  impossible.f  It  gave  to  every  member 
of  the  body  politic  an  interest  in  the  soil,  and  so  also  in 
the  maintenance  of  public  order  and  the  supremacy  of 
law, — an  interest  which  he  had  not  even  the  power  to  part 
with  permanently.  It  made  the  virtues  of  industry  and 
frugality  necessary  elements  in  every  man's  character,  so 
that  labor  was  as  honorable  amongst  the  Hebrews  as  it 
has  ever  been  in  America, — asentiment  which  is  expressed 
by  St.  Paul  in  his  well-known  saying,  "If  any  man  will 
not  work,  neither  shall  he  eat."|  Under  such  a  polity 
as  this  it  was  impossible  that  a  few  could  revel  in  the 
enjoyment  of  immense  fortunes,  while  the  multitudes 
suffered  lack  of  the  common  necessities  of  life.  Entailed 
misery  became  well  nigh  impossible,  for  the  power  of 
heredity  was  broken  by  the  return  of  the  year  of  jubilee 
before  it  could  fix  upon  the  children  of  the  alienated 
landholder  the  impress  and  stamp  of  pauperism.  The 
hand  of  this  Hebrew  government  was  laid  with  equal 
beneficence  upon  all. 

No  doubt  this  law,  independent  of  considerations  of 
individual  happiness,  had  regard  to  the  maintenance  of 
religion  and  the  perpetuity  of  the  Hebrew  common- 
wealth. The  possession  of  property  fixed  the  people  to 
the  soil.  The  devotion  to  agriculture  separated  them 
from  the  ambition  of  war.  Seated  among  their  mountain 
heights,  like  the  thrifty  citizens  of  the  Swiss  republic  in 
our  own  day,  on  the  great  highway  between  Egypt  to 
the  south,  and  Nineveh  and  Babylon  and  Syria  to  the 

*  Lev.  xxv.  8-11.    t  Wines — "Laws  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews," 
page  403.     %  II.  Thess.  lii.  10. 


3-60  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

east  and  north  of  them,  they  had  the  strongest  induce- 
ment to  maintain  their  independence.  '  Every  individual 
was  bound  by  law  to  do  military  duty.  No  standing 
army  was  required,  but,  like  our  own  militia  laws,  the 
Hebrew  code  required  every  yeoman,  at  the  summons 
of  the  head  of  the  government,  to  rally  under  his  own 
legitimate  chiefs  and  leaders  to  defend  his  altars,  his 
hearthstone  and  his  little  farm.  In  short,  the  policy 
seems  to  have  been  just  the  reverse  of  that  which,  as  we 
learn  from  Caesar,*  prevailed  amongst  the  ancient  Ger- 
mans, who  discouraged  agriculture,  permitted  no  fixed 
quantity  of  land  in  severalty,  or  boundaries  of  property, 
but  assigned  to  communities  and  families  at  frequent 
periods  such  spots  for  homes  as  were  thought  suitable, 
in  order  to  weaken  their  hold  upon  domestic  life,  and 
nurture  and  maintain  within  them  the  habit  and  love  of 
war.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  purpose,,  the  fact  re- 
mains that  under  sanctions  of  Jehovah,  Moses,  the  great 
lawgiver  of  the  Hebrews,  bestowed  upon  individuals 
property  in  land. 

An  interesting  exception  was  made  under  the  general 
law  of  Jubilee  as  to  nouses  in  towns,  which  if  not  re- 
deemed within  one  year  were  alienated  forever.f  The 
purpose,  or  at  least  the  tendency  of  such  a  provision 
would  be  to  discourage  an  abnormal  development  of 
city  life,  and  to  maintain  the  advantage  of  rural  and  agri- 
cultural habits.  A  sort  of  quit-rent  was  required  of  all 
landholders,  to  be  paid  to  the  divine  proprietor  in  tithes, 
or  the  tenths,  which  was  used  to  maintain  the  govern- 
ing, literal')-,  pedagogic,  and  priestly  class,  the  whole 
tribe  of  Levi  being  set  apart  to  these  special  functions, 
and  being  debarred  from  the  general  allotment  and  own- 
ership of  land  which  fell  to  tin-  other  tribes. 

This  provision  of  the  Mosaic  code  strikes  us  as  the 
more  significant  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Israelites  in 
Egypt  must  have  been  accustomed  to  an  entirely  differ- 
ent law  and  mode.  A  glance  at  the  administration  of 
Joseph  when  he  was  premier  of  Egypt,  will  show  us  that 
individual  ownership  of  lands  largely  prevailed  among 
the  Egyptians,  but  during  the  years  of  famine  of  which 

■■  I ><j  IV-ll.  (",.ii-,  chapter VI.    +  Lev.  xxv.  29,  30. 


A  MAN'S  NA  TURAL  RIGHT  TO  O  WN  LAND.      36 1 

we  have  a  record  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  the  lands  were 
sold  to  the  sovereign  for  corn,  and  thus  became  the  pro- 
perty of  the  state.  This  common  tenure  largely  pre- 
vailed, so  far  as  we  can  learn,  among  the  Egyptians,  and 
it  would  seem  that  in  the  land  of  Goshen  the  Israelites 
maintained  their  position  as  tenants-at-will  of  the  gov- 
ernment, or  if  you  please  of  the  Pharaoh,  the  head  of  the 
government.  They  had,  in  short,  the  full  benefit  of  com- 
munism during  the  friendly  dynasty  under  which  they 
had  been  introduced  into  Egypt,  and  all  the  terrible  dis- 
advantages of  the  system  under  the  administration  of  a 
king  "  which  knew  not  Joseph."  With  these  four  cen- 
turies or  more  experienceof  communism,  and  under  the 
leadership  of  Moses,  a  man  who  was  learned  in  all  the 
wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  it  certainly  is  significant,  and 
casts  an  immense  fullness  of  side-light  upon  the  question 
we  are  considering,  that  these  liberated  bondmen  received 
from  Jehovah  their  Lord  a  constitution  based  on  indi- 
vidual ownership  of  land,  and  maintained  it  through  all 
the  following  generations. 

Is  not  this  this  the  inevitable  tendency  of  races  as 
they  rise  in  civilization?  Among  our  own  populations 
the  principle  of  land  communism  is  well  illustrated  in 
the  customs  of  the  American  Indians.  But  those  who 
best  know  the  necessities  of  the  red  men,  see  the  only 
hope  for  their  assured  future  in  the  rejection  of  tribal 
possessions  of  land,  and  acceptance  of  the  practice  of 
ownership  in  severalty,  as  it  exists  among  white  men. 
Surely,  we  shall  not  be  persuaded  to  take  up  and  wear 
the  "  cast-off  clothes  "  which  our  national  wards,  as  they 
mount  into  a  higher  civilization,  are  leaving  behind  them 
with  other  trammels  of  a  savage  estate  ? 

V.  The  views  of  the  Holy  Scripture  concerning  Land- 
marks is  an  evidence  that  the  Divine  law  sanctions  and 
protects  the  individual  tenure  of  land. 

In  the  book  of  Job,  we  read  condemnation  of  those 
who  remove  the  landmarks.*  "  Thou  shalt  not  remove 
thy  neighbor's  landmark,  which  they  of  old  time  have 
set,   in   thine    inheritance  which   thou   shalt   inherit,   in 

*Job  xxiv.  2. 


362  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  TURE. 

the  land  that  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee  to  pos- 
sess it,"  :'  was  one  of  the  statutes  of  the  Israelites.  This 
was  surrounded  by  the  sanctions  of  religion.  On  that 
day  when  the  people  were  placed  one  half  upon  the 
slopes  of  Mount  Gerizim  to  bless  the  people,  and  the 
other  upon  Mount  Ebal  to  curse  the  people,  among  the 
very  first  of  those  violators  of  the  law  upon  whom  the 
awful  maledictions  of  Jehovah  were  invoked,  we  find 
those  who  destroy  the  boundary  marks.  "  Cursed  be  he 
that  removeth  his  neighbor's  landmark.  And  all  the  peo- 
ple shall  say,  Amen."f  This  idea  of  the  religious  sanc- 
tion of  the  boundary  lines  of  the  people  we  see  pre- 
served in  the  mythology  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome. 
The  god  Hermes  or  Mercury*  being  himself  messenger 
of  the  gods,  it  became  his  office  to  aid  messengers  and 
travelers,  and  to  this  end  it  was  he  who  inspired  the 
idea  of  erecting  sign-posts  at  cross-roads  with  directions 
as  to  whither  each  road  led.  These  sign-posts  took  the 
form  of  statues,  if  they  may  be  so  called,  consisting  of 
pillars  running  narrower  towards  the  foot  and  sur- 
mounted by  the  head  of  Hermes,  and  were  called  1  [ermae. 
This  name  Hermae  or  Terminii,  belonged  also  to  the 
field  boundaries,  which  were  under  the  protection  of  the 
same  deity,  Mercury.J 

VI.  Moreover,  we  know  that  this  law  of  possession 
and  inheritance  was  not  of  Transitory  Life.  It  did  not 
become  a  dead  letter  upon  the  statutes  of  Israel.  It  re- 
ceived tlie  sanction  of  prophets,  priests,  legislators,  and 
rulers  in  the  succeeding  ages  of  the  nation. 

An  illustration  of  this  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Ahab. 
This  sovereign  had  a  fancy  tor  landscape  gardening,  and 
desired  a  vineyard  belonging  to  a  neighbor  named 
Naboth  to  piece  out  his  own  property  and  add  t>>  the 
beaut)' of  his  park.  Naboth  refused  to  sell  or  exchange 
his  vineyard  on  the  ground  that  it  was  contrary  to  the 
law  for  him  to  alienate  the  inheritance  of  his  lathers. 
The  sovereign  could  not  conceal  his  disappointment, 
and   his   wife    Jezebel    the   queen,    less    scrupulous    than 

Deut.  \i\.  14-    f  Dcut.  x.wii.  17.     %  Murray — " Manual  My- 
thology," 126. 


A  MAN'S  NATURAL  RIGHT  TO  OWN  LAND.      363 

Ahab,  and  indignant  that  the  king  should  be  thwarted 
by  a  common  citizen,  concocted  a  scheme  by  which 
under  false  charges  Naboth  was  condemned,  slain  and 
his  vineyard  escheated  to  the  state.  When  the  sturdy 
citizen  was  stoned  to  death  Ahab  rounded  out  his  pleas- 
ure park  with  the  stolen  vineyard. 

But  the  matter  was  not  so  to  end.  The  Eternal  Jus- 
tice, Sovereign  of  Israel  as  of  all  lands,  had  somewhat 
to  say  in  this  case.  "  And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came 
to  Elijah  the  Tishbite,  saying,  Arise,  go  down  to  meet 
Ahab  the  king  of  Israel.  Behold,  he  is  in  the  vineyard 
of  Naboth,  whither  he  has  gone  down  to  take  possession 
of  it."  I  will  not  repeat  the  story.  You  may  read  it 
for  yourselves  in  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  the  first 
Book  of  Kings.  I  have  simply  to  call  your  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  prophet  of  God,  in  obedience  to  the 
divine  command,  found  Ahab  on  his  stolen  possession; 
declared  to  him  the  wickedness  of  his  course  and  pre- 
dicted his  violent  death,  adding,  with  a  striking  sense  of 
the  eternal  fitness,  that  "  in  the  place  where  dogs  licked 
the  blood  of  Naboth,  shall  the  dogs  lick  thy  blood,  even 
thine."  There  can  be  no  question  that  in  this  case  Na- 
both did  right,  that  the  law  of  Israel  maintained  him  in 
possession  of  his  property  ;  that  that  right  was  so  sacred 
and  secured  that  not  even  the  sovereign  on  his  throne 
could  overcome  it,  and  dispossess  the  humble  citizen  of 
his  property ;  and  finally,  that  the  Almighty  God  here 
also  gave  the  sanction  of  His  authority  to  the  act  of 
Naboth  and  the  principle  upon  which  he  stood. 

We  take  another  case  to  show  the  vitality  of  this  law 
and  the  fact  that  the  individual  possession  and  purchase 
of  property  were  sanctioned  by  God.  Our  illustration 
carries  us  to  a  late  period  in  the  history  of  the  Hebrew 
monarchy,  under  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  nearly  six  hun- 
dred years  before  the  era  of  Christ.  The  sacred  city  of 
Jerusalem  was  besieged  by  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
king  of  Babylon.  The  prophet  Jeremiah  was  a  prisoner 
in  the  house  of  the  king  of  Judah,  having  been  shut  up 
because  he  had  predicted  the  capture  of  the  city  and 
the  captivity  of  the  people.  In  such  condition  anything 
like  a  transaction  in  real  estate,  one  would  think,  would 


364  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NA  TL  'RE. 

have  been  the  last  thought  to  enter  the  prophet's  mind. 
Vet  we  have  such  a  record  as  this  ;  "  .And  Jeremiah  said, 
The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying,  Ik-hold, 
Hanamel,  the  son  of  Shallum  thine  uncle  shall  come 
unto  thee,  saying,  Buy  thee  my  field  that  is  in  Anathoth: 
for  the  right  of  redemption  is  thine  to  buy  it.  So  Han- 
amel mine  uncle's  son  came  to  me  in  the  court  of  the 
guard  according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  said  unto 
me,  Buy  my  field,  I  pray  thee,  that  is  in  Anathoth,  which 
is  in  the  land  of  Benjamin:  for  the  right  of  inheritance 
is  thine,  and  the  redemption  is  thine;  buy  it  for  thyself. 
Then  I  knew  that  this  was  the  word  of  the  Lord.  And 
I  bought  the  field  that  was  in  Anathoth  of  Hanamel 
mine  uncle's  son,  and  weighed  him  the  money, even  sev- 
enteen shekels  of  silver.  And  I  subscribed  the  deed, 
and  sealed  it,  and  called  witnesses,  and  weighed  him  the 
money  in  the  balances.  So  I  took  the  deed  of  the  pur- 
chase, both  that  which  was  sealed,  according  to  the  law 
and  custom,  and  that  which  was  open:  and  I  delivered 
up  the  deed  of  the  purchase  unto  Baruch  the  son  of 
Neriah,  the  son  of  Mahseiah,  in  the  presence  of  Han- 
amel mine  uncle's  son,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  wit- 
nesses that  subscribed  to  the  deed  of  the  purchase,  be- 
fore all  the  Jews  that  sat  in  the  court  of  the  guard.  And 
I  charged  Baruch  before  them,  saying,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel:  Take  these  deeds,  this 
deed  of  the  purchase,  both  that  which  is  sealed,  and  this 
deed  which  is  open,  and  put  them  in  an  earthen  vessel  ; 
for  they  may  continue  many  days.  For  thus  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel:  Houses  and  fields 
and  vineyards  shall  yet  again  be  benight  in  this  land."* 

I  have  cited  the  entire  passage,  as  it  has  Mich  a  clear 
bearing  upon  the  question  at  issue  that  he  may  read 
who  runs,  and  a  wayfaring  man  though  a  fool  need  not 
err  therein.  Now  this  passage  has  always  been  regarded 
as  one  of  the  subtimest  acts  of  faith  on  the  part  of  I  I 
ancient  servant  The  prophet  was  a  prisoner.  The 
country  was  overrun  by  an  invading  foe.  Hostile  armies 
were  thundering  at  the  gates  of  the  capital,  and  Jere- 
miah knew  that  the   city  would    surely  be   captured   and 

*Jer.  xxxii.  6-15. 


A  MAN'S  NATURAL  RIGHT  TO  OWN  LAND.      365 

the  people  scattered  as  captives.  Yet  he  so  trusted  the 
word  of  his  God  that  he  believed  that,  notwithstanding 
the  circumstances  surrounding  him,  in  some  after  day 
the  promise  would  be  redeemed  and  once  more  there 
should  be  that  token  of  prosperity,  peace,  and  religious 
revival  expressed  in  the  closing  verse  of  the  section 
quoted :  "  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of 
Israel :  Houses  and  fields  and  vineyards  shall  yet  again 
be  bought  in  this  land." 

The  theologian  who  takes  the  ground  that  the  pur- 
chase and  possession  of  land  as  property  by  the  indi- 
vidual is  wrong — contrary  to  natural  justice  and  so  also 
contrary  to  the  word  of  God,  is  bound  to  explain  this 
section.  He  is  under  obligation  to  show  how  the  pro- 
phet could  have  acted  as  he  did.  He  is  bound  to  ex- 
plain why  the  Church  in  all  ages  has  esteemed  this  con- 
duct one  of  the  sublimest  acts  of  faith,  that  esteem  being 
based,  as  is  alleged,  upon  behavior  contrary  to  natural 
righteousness. 

Further  and  above  all,  he  is  bound  to  explain  how,  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  theory,  the  Almighty  God  should  make 
such  a  command  to  Jeremiah.  That  he  did  make  the  com- 
mand isasserted  directly  again  and  again, both  in  the  narra- 
tive and  in  that  touching  and  wonderful  prayer  of  the  pro- 
phet which  follows  the  completion  of  the  business  trans- 
action. We  find  the  fact  put  in  these  words :  "  And  thou 
hast  said  unto  me,  O  Lord  God,  buy  thee  the  field  for 
money  and  call  witnesses,  whereas  the  city  is  given  into 
the  hand  of  the  Chaldeans."  *  You  observe  that  Jeremiah 
felt  in  his  heart  that  the  Lord  owed  to  him  some  explana- 
tion of  this  strange  command  under  such  apparently  un- 
reasonable circumstances,  and  the  Almighty  vouchsafed 
the  explanation.  We  read  further  in  the  chapter  and  in  the 
course  of  the  communication  given  to  the  prophet,  this 
divine  assurance  :  "  Fields  shall  be  bought  in  this  land 
whereof  we  say  it  is  desolate  without  man  or  beast ;  it  is 
given  into  the  hands  of  the  Chaldeans.  Men  shall  buy 
fields  for  money  and  subscribe  deeds  and  seal  them  and 
call  witnesses  in  the  land  of  Benjamin,  and  in  the  places 
about  Jerusalem  and  in  the  cities  about  Judah,  and  in 

*  Verse  25. 


366  THE  GOSPEL  IX  NA  Tl  TRE. 

the  cities  of  the  hill  country,  and  in  the  cities  of  the  low- 
land and  in  the  cities  of  the  south,  for  I  will  cause  their 
capitivity  to  return,  saith  the  Lord."*  Now,  can  any 
theologian,  can  any  clear-minded  reader  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  explain  how,  in  face  of  such  divine  sanctions, 
it  becomes  contrary  to  righteousness  and  justice  for  men 
to  do  like  things  in  these  days  in  the  cities  and  vineyards, 
in  the  hill  countries  and  valleys  of*  America  or  any 
other  land  ? 

Verses  43,  44. 


LECTURE  XX. 


May  a  Christian  Own  Land? 

"  Whiles  it  remained,   was  it  not  thine  oxen?" — 
Acts  v.  4. 


MAY  A  CHRISTIAN  OWN  LAND  ? 


We  are  to  examine  in  this  lecture  what  may  be  re- 
garded the  crucial  point  in  the  discussion  of  a  man's 
right  to  own  land.  It  may  be  said,  it  has  often  been 
said,  all  the  regulations  heretofore  considered  belong  to 
the  Old  Testament  dispensation.  "  The  old  things  are 
passed  away;  behold,  they  are  become  new."*  What- 
ever may  have  been  lawful  for  the  Jew  (it  is  asserted),  it 
is  not  permitted  a  Christian  to  own  land.  The  spirit 
of  Christ  and  the  deeds  and  decrees  of  the  apostles  and 
Primitive  Church  sanctioned  land  communism,  and  on 
that  ground  we  may  advocate  it  to-day. 

I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  first,  that  there  are  some 
old  things  that  in  the  sense  of  the  saying  quoted  never 
will  become  new ;  or  rather  let  me  change  the  expres- 
sion and  assert  that  there  are  old  things  which  are  for- 
ever new  by  the  spirit  of  eternal  life  that  lodges  within 
them.  Nature  is  one  of  those  old  things — old !  no  one 
knows  how  old.  New!  every  one  who  will  seek  her 
smiling  face  upon  a  bright  May  morning,  or  consult  her 
mysteries  in  the  midst  of  winter  snows  and  storms,  will 
find  how  sweetly  or  how  keenly  fresh  she  is  to-day,  as 
she  has  always  been.  Human  nature  is  old,  but  human 
nature  is  new  also,  as  new  to-day  as  when  it  fell  a  virgin 
creature  from  the  Creator's  hand.  What  human  nature 
was  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  in  the  desert  of  Sinai, 
among  the  hills  of  Palestine,  in  the  vineyard  of  Naboth, 
in  the  prison  of  Zedekiah's  palace,  it  is  to-day  and  al- 
ways will  be.  That  justice  which  belongs  to  human 
nature,  and  which  is  natural  justice,  is  unchangeable, 
and  whatever  laws  and  principles  based  thereupon  have 
been  established  as  of  God  by  reasonable  inference  are 
binding  to-day  with  a  force  as  fresh  as  when  first  they 
were  laid  within  the  constitutions  of  the  human  mind. 

*II.  Cor.  v.  17. 

(369) 


3;o  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

But  we  accept  the  challenge,  and  turn  now  to  that 
period  of  the  New  Testament  Church  from  which  nearly 
all  Christian  communes  have  obtained  their  supposed 
authority  for  their  organization  and  regulation.  In  the 
fourth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  at  the  thirty- 
second  verse  we  thus  read:  "And  the  multitude  of  them 
that  believed  were  of  one  heart  and  soul,  and  not  one  of 
them  said  that  aught  of  the  things  he  possessed  was  his 
own,  but  they  had  all  things  in  common."  "  And  with 
great  power  gave  the  apostles  their  witness  of  the  resur- 
rection of  the  Lord  Jesus :  and  great  grace  was  upon 
them  all.  For  neither  was  there  among  them  any  that 
lacked :  for  as  many  as  were  possessors  of  lands  or 
houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the  prices  of  the  things 
that  were  sold,  and  laid  them  at  the  apostles'  feet:  and 
distribution  was  made  unto  each,  according  as  any  one 
had  need."* 

Here  now  is  an  undoubted  case  of  communism.  This 
is  the  ideal  communistic  society,  a  holy  company  of  be- 
lievers so  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God,  and  the  dis- 
semination of  their  new  faith,  and  the  welfare  of  human- 
ity, that  they  voluntarily  resigned  all  possessions  and 
made  a  common  fund.  Does  not  this  constitute  a  repeal 
of  all  the  laws  and  usages  of  the  past?  Does  not  this 
give  the  sanction  of  the  Primitive  Church  to  a  state  and 
organization  like  that  which  is  advocated  by  many  mod- 
ern communists?     We  must  meet  the  question. 

I.  Undoubtedly  the  Church,  particularly  in  the  Latin 
and  Greek  communions,  has  always  extended  the  sanction 
of  its  great  authority  to  the  existence  of  suchcommunities, 
but  you  will  observe  first  of  all,  that  they  were  simply 
forms  of  Christian  fellowship,  not  of  civil  government; 
they  were  integral  portions  of  the  Church,  not  of  the 
State.  The  very  foundation  principle  of  the  State,  the 
family,  was  wanting,  for  they  almost  invariably  took  the 
form  of  communes  of  one  sex,  the  result  bring  commu- 
nities of  monks  on  the  one  hand  and  nuns  on  the  other. 
Sometimes,    as    in    the    case   of   our    modern    Shakers, 

*Acts  iv.  ,v,-35. 


MA  Y  A  CHRISTIAN  O  WN  LAND  ?  37 1 

Economites,  and  similar  communistic  families,  the  sexes 
wrought,  fed,  and  worshiped  together  as  a  common 
family  of  brothers  and  sisters,  but  in  the  practice  of  celi- 
bacy. 

2.  My  second  answer  is  that  there  is  not  a  word  in  the 
positive  precepts  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  or  of  any  of 
the  New  Testament  writers  ordaining  the  existence  of 
such  communities  or  such  state  of  general  society.  The 
attitude  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  on  this  subject  is 
worthy  of  remark.  He  raised  no  contention  with  the 
old  order  of  things.  He  announced  no  principle  that  by 
necessary  and  logical  inference  would  overthrow  that 
order.  He  mingled  continually  with  those  who  pos- 
sessed landed  property,  and  although  he  was  free  to  de- 
nounce oppressors  of  the  poor  and  despoilers  of  the 
widow,  no  word  fell  from  his  lips  censuring  owners  of 
land. 

It  would  seem  from  the  Gospels  that  among  his  closest 
friends  and  sincerest  disciples  were  those  who  occupied 
homes  of  their  own.  He  accepted  the  hospitality  of 
these  and  other  householders  with  the  utmost  freedom, 
and  with  never  a  suggestion  of  disfavor  or  rebuke.  His 
favorite  retreat  when  at  Jerusalem  was  the  beautiful  home 
of  Lazarus  and  his  sisters  Martha  and  Mary  on  Mount 
Olivet.  To  this  delightful  suburban  retreat  he  continu- 
ally and  lovingly  resorted  after  the  wearying  toils  and 
vexing  contentions  of  a  day's  teaching  in  the  Holy  City. 
Can  we  suppose  that  these  beloved  Bethany  friends  were 
guilty  of  wrong  or  impropriety  in  their  ownership  of 
their  Bethany  home,  and  that  our  blessed  Lord  received 
therein  from  them  the  sweets  and  solace  of  hospitality 
without  a  word  or  seemingly  a  thought  of  protest  or  re- 
buke ?     We  cannot  think  it. 

Among  the  apostles  of  Jesus  was  John,  a  friend  of 
the  High  Priest,  who  owned  "  his  own  house."  *  The 
original  expression  f  need  not  imply  that  John  had  a 
house  in  Jerusalem,  but  certainly  does  show  that  his 
usual  habitation  was  fixed,  and  zvas  his  own.%    When  the 

*John  xix.  27.  f  dg  raidia.  J  Vide  Alford's  Greek  Testament 
in  loc. 


372  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NA  Ti  RE. 

Master  hung  upon  the  cross  in  the  agonies  of  dissolu- 
tion it  was  to  this  disciple,  the  beloved  John,  that  he 
committed  the  care  of  his  mother.  It  would  almost 
appear  that  the  fact  of  John's  ownership  of  a  home  in 
which  that  venerated  mother  might  fittingly  be  shel- 
tered, was  the  one  which  decided  the  choice  and  action 
of  Jesus  in  committing  the  Virgin  Mary  to  this  disci- 
ple's care. 

Can  we  permit  ourselves  the  thought  that  He  who  in 
the  last  moments  of  his  life  wrought  such  a  work  as 
this,  could  have  known  that  the  house  in  which  his 
mother  should  find  a  safe  retreat  for  the  closing  days 
of  her  life,  was  held  by  a  law  and  tenure  contrary 
to  natural  justice  and  Divine  right?  The  thought  is 
utterly  inadmissible!  It  is  true  indeed  that  this  evi- 
dence concerning  our  Lord's  attitude  towards  the 
question  of  personal  ownership  of  land  is  largely  of  a 
negative  character;  and  yet  there  are  circumstances 
under  which  such  testimony  has  all  the  weight  of  the 
most  positive  witnessing.  At  all  events,  it  is  clearly 
manifest  that  the  teaching  and  example  of  Jesus  Christ 
cannot  be  quoted  against  the  right  of  individual  owner- 
ship of  land. 

3.  In  the  third  place,  the  action  of  the  primitive 
Christians  was  voluntary.  It  has  the  force  of  example, 
it  is  true,  but  that  is  no  further  authority  than  the  rea- 
sonableness of  the  example  under  similar  circumstances 
may  bestow.  There  are  other  actions  of  the  apostles 
and  primitive  Christians,  many  of  them,  indeed,  which 
we  study  with  interest  for  the  sake  of  their  underlying 
principles,  but  which  no  one  has  ever  thought  to  have 
the  sanction  of  Divine  authority,  or  to  be  of  moral 
obligation  to  the  people  of  these  days. 

4.  But  in  the  fourth  place,  and  this  is  conclusive,  we 
find  in  the  direct  utterance  of  St.  Peter,  the  first  of 
the  Apostles,  a  clear  renunciation  of  any  purpose  to 
annul  the  laws  of  property.  In  the  fifth  chapter  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  occurs  the  well-known  incident  of 
the  punishment  which  fell   upon  Ananias  and  Sapphira 


MA r  A  CHRISTIAN  O  WN  LAND  ?  373 

for  a  breach  of  faith,  good-fellowship  and  truth.  The 
incident  briefly  is  this :  Ananias  and  his  wife  sold  a  pos- 
session, that  is  a  field,  as  the  Greek  indicates,  claiming 
to  have  given  the  proceeds  to  the  common  fund,  but 
they  privily  kept  back  a  part  of  the  money.  When  they 
brought  this  to  the  apostles  their  hypocritical  conduct 
was  uncovered  by  St.  Peter,  who  addressed  the  false 
Ananias  in  these  words,  "  Why  hath  Satan  filled  thy 
heart  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost  and  keep  back  part  of 
the  price  of  the  land  ?  Whiles  it  remained  did  it  not 
remain  thine  own  ?  and  after  it  was  sold  was  it  not  in 
thy  power?" 

Do  you  discern  the  force  of  these  words  of  St.  Peter  ? 
Here  is  the  most  undoubted  recognition  and  assertion 
by  the  apostle  of  the  fact  that  while  the  field  of  Ananias 
was  unsold  it  was  his  own  !  Even  after  the  price  of  the 
land  had  been  paid,  and  before  it  was  given  to  the  apos- 
tles, still,  says  Peter,  "  it  was  in  thy  power."  The  right 
of  property  only  ceased  when  it  was  given  into  the  treas- 
ury of  the  Church.  The  hypocrisy  and  falsehood  of 
the  man  and  woman  were  the  sins  punished.  It  was  the 
claim  on  their  part,  before  God  and  His  Church,  to  a 
virtue  which  they  did  not  possess,  that  excited  the  indig- 
nation of  St.  Peter,  and  brought  down  upon  them  disci- 
pline and  the  judgment  of  Heaven,  not  the  violation  of  a 
communal  law.  It  is  inconceivable  under  the  circum- 
stances, as  related,  that  the  law  of  the  Primitive  Church 
required  every  member  to  dispossess  himself  of  his  prop- 
erty in  land.  On  the  contrary  we  here  have  the  very 
highest  authority,  namely,  the  apostle  Peter,  speaking 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the  belief  that  Christians  could 
lawfully  retain  lands,  even  as  before  their  conversion.  To 
those  theologians  who  recognize  St.  Peter  as  the  first 
Pope  and  head  of  the  Church,  it  seems  to  me  that  this 
assertion  ought  to  come  with  all  the  force  of  an  ex-ca- 
thedra, and  therefore  an  infallible  utterance  of  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  sanctioning  the  right  of  the  individual 
believer  to  own  land.  "  Whiles  it  remained  was  it  not 
thine  own  ?  " 

It  is  perhaps  well  to  answer  the  question,  Then  why 
did  the  apostles  encourage  this  community  of  goods  ? 


374  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

The  answer  is  obvious.  The  majority  of  the  first  be- 
lievers in  Jerusalem  were  poor;  though  many,  like 
Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and  the  family 
at  Bethany,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  Mark,  and  St. 
John  himself,  were  possessors  of  more  or  less  proper- 
ty. This  Christian  community  was  established  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  Jewish  capital,  under  the  shadow  of 
the  temple  and  within  the  environing  prejudice,  big- 
otry and  hatred  excited  by  sanhedrists  and  priests 
against  the  sect  of  the  Nazarene.  Those  who  know  to 
what  extent  this  spirit  of  caste  was  carried  will  under- 
stand at  once  that  the  condition  of  the  poor  and  humble 
believers  must  have  been  a  sad  one  indeed.  They  would 
have  been  utterly  cut  off  from  the  means  of  support ;  so 
entirely  tabooed  .or  "  boycotted,"  to  use  the  modern  well- 
known  phrase,  that  no  one  would  buy  from  them,  or  sell 
to  them,  or  employ  them,  or  even  greet  them  upon  the 
streets.  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  those  who  had 
aught  should  contribute  to  the  support  of  those  who  for 
the  sake  of  the  faith  were  thus  cut  off  from  a  livelihood. 
In  short,  it  was  Christian  love  waging  its  first  battle 
against  caste.  It  was  the  spirit  of  Christian  brotherhood 
rising  supreme  over  selfishness,  and  making  willing  sac- 
rifice in  behalf  of  the  brethren  of  the  faith. 

The  same  state  of  things  has  existed  frequently  in 
history,  and  as  often  the  Church  has  been  fostered  by 
the  same  triumphant  exhibition  of  brotherly  love.  In 
modern  times  Christian  missions  among  the  Hindoos 
have  been  compelled  to  face  a  condition  similar  to  that 
which  met  the  Primitive  Church  in  Jerusalem.  Hindoo 
caste  is  so  strongly  intrenched  in  the  minds  and  customs 
of  the  people  that  our  first  missionaries  were  compelled 
to  organize  their  converts  into  Christian  villages  in  order 
to  preserve  life.  Conversion  to  Christianity  meant  out- 
lawry in  India.  The  native  believer  was  expelled  from 
the  very  bosom  of  his  family,  cut  off  from  wife,  family, 
parents,  from  all  men, — remorselessly  separated  from 
every  kind  of  social,  commercial,  and  communal  contact. 

It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  in  order  to  meet 
exigencies  of  a  special  time  and  condition  the  apostles 
should  have  encouraged  a  community  of  goods;  but  in 


MAY  A  CHRIS  TIAN  O  WN  LAND  ?  375 

so  doing  they  no  more  sanctioned  the  doctrine  of  mod- 
ern communism,  or  condemned  the  individual  holding 
of  land  than  do  our  American  missionaries  in  India  to- 
day, and  it  would  be  just  as  reasonable  to  attribute  these 
principles  to  the  latter  Christian  apostles  as  to  the  prim- 
itive ones. 

5.  But  in  the  fifth  place  we  are  enabled  to  show 
by  subsequent  records  that  the  interpretation  of  the 
apostle's  principles  and  action  here  given  is  the  true  one. 
After  the  deliverance  of  St.  Peter  from  prison  by  the  in- 
terposition of  an  angel,  we  find  this  record:  "When  he 
had  considered  the  thing  he  came  to  the  house  of  Mary, 
the  mother  of  John  whose  surname  was  Mark,  where 
many  were  gathered  together  praying."  *  Here  then  is 
the  inspired  record  of  the  fact  that  in  that  city  of  Jerusa- 
lem and  among  those  primitive  people,  the  mother  of  one 
of  the  evangelists,  a  lady  of  such  importance  that  her 
house  was  the  centre  of  the  community  for  private  devo- 
tion, to  which  St.  Peter  inevitably  turned  in  his  time  of 
need,  had  retained  her  own  house  in  her  own  hands.  Ob- 
viously there  was  no  compulsion  in  the  primitive  society 
resting  upon  any  member  to  dispose  of  property;  and 
those  who  chose  to  reserve  their  estates  or  any  part  there- 
of did  not  lose  standing  among  the  primitive  Christians. 
Nor  is  this  case  of  Mary  alone  in  the  sacred  records.  We 
read  of  St.  Peter  as  dwelling  in  the  house  of  Simon  the 
tanner,  apparently  one  of  the  brotherhood,  at  the  time 
when  the  heavenly  vision  came  to  him,  bidding  him  go  to 
the  house  of  Cornelius  the  centurion  to  convert  him  to  the 
Holy  faith. f  The  first  convert  to  Christianity  in  Europe 
was  Lydia  of  Thyatira,  whose  heart  the  Lord  opened  at 
the  preaching  of  Paul,  and  who  upon  her  conversion  and 
baptism  said,  "  If  ye  have  judged  me  to  be  faithful 
unto  the  Lord,  come  unto  my  house  and  abide  there."  % 
When  Paul  was  prohibited  the  use  of  the  synagogue  at 
Corinth  for  the  propagation  of  the  new  faith  we  are  told 
that  he  established  his  headquarters  in  "  the  house  of  a 
certain  man  named  Titus  Justus,  one  that  worshiped 
God,  whose  house  j oined  hard  to  the  synagogue."§   There 

*Acts  xii.  12.     f  Acts  x.  32.     J  Acts  xvi.  15.     §  Acts  xviii.  7. 


376  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

is  one  name  which  has  been  embalmed  in  the  beautiful 
allegory  of  Bunyan  as  a  type  of  Christian  Hospitality 
in  all  ages,  of  whom  John  speaks  as  the  "  beloved  Gaius,"* 
and  whom  Paul  calls,  Gaius  mine  host,  and  the  host  of 
the  whole  Church.f  Paul  when  imprisoned  at  Rome 
joins  with  Timothy  in  greeting  Philemon,  and  adds  his 
salutation  "to  the  church  in  thy  house." %  It  is  useless 
to  multiply  these  references.  True,  we  cannot  be  positive 
that  all  these  householders  to  whom  the  sacred  writers 
allude  were  owners  of  the  properties  in  which  they 
dwelt,  but  in  consideration  of  the  circumstances  surround- 
ing the  various  persons  quoted,  it  is  unreasonable  to  think 
that  all  of  them  were  simply  tenants,  as  was  Paul  when 
he  "dwelt  two  whole  years  in  his  own  hired  house "§  at 
Rome.  Indeed  the  evidence  of  the  context  and  the 
associations  as  they  appear  therein  seems  to  place  all  the 
individuals  to  whom  I  have  referred  among  the  number 
of  those  who  possessed  their  own  homes,  and  ample 
means  besides,  as  well  as  disposition  to  make  them 
centres  of  Christian  influence  and  the  seats  of  a  holy 
hospitality.  In  this  view  they  show  that  the  whole 
spirit  and  practice  of  the  early  Church,  as  it  was  grad- 
ually distributed  from  Jerusalem  throughout  the  sur- 
rounding nations,  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the 
ancient  and  prevailing  customs,  and  with  that  which  so 
universally  obtains  among  Christians  and  civilized  peo- 
ple to-day.  The  primitive  Christians  dwelt  upon  their 
own  land  and  under  their  own  roof-trees, and  were  sanc- 
tioned by  the  holy  apostles  and  by  their  Lord.  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  affirm  that  under  such  a  light  of  testi- 
mony from  so  many  independent  quarters,  extending 
over  so  great  a  period,  and  embracing  such  varied 
sources,  it  is  absolutely  impossible  for  any  theologian  to 
justify  by  the  word  of  God  the  claim  that  an  individual 
tenure  of  land  and  house  is  contrary  to  righteousness, 
natural  justice,  Christian  charity,  and  the  law  of  God. 

I  have  yet  one  further  point  which  I  will  not  urge  as 
an  argument,  but  which  seems  to  me  to  have  the  force  at 
least  of  an  indication,  and  a  very  sweet  and  sacred  one. 

*  III.  John  i.     |  Rom.  xvi.  23.     %  Philemon,  verse  ii.     ?  Acts 
xxviii.  30. 


MA  Y  A  CHRISTIAN  O  WN  LAND  ?  377 

Before  our  blessed  Saviour  left  the  world  he  gave  his 
disciples  assurance  and  some  degree  of  insight  of  that 
immortal  habitation  which  it  was  his  holy  mission  to  pro- 
cure and  prepare  for  them  that  love  and  trust  Him.  "  In 
my  Father's  house,"  he  said,  "  are  many  mansions.  If  it 
were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you  I 
will  come  again  and  receive  you  unto  myself,  that  where 
I  am  there  ye  may  be  also."  *  Does  it  not  impress  one 
who  reads  these  words  of  Jesus  that  it  was  evidently  his 
purpose  to  stir  up  within  the  disciples'  minds  a  sense  of 
holy  longing  and  eager  anticipation  of  the  reward  of 
heaven  by  appealing  to  that  sense  of  personal  possession 
and  security  therein  which  is  so  strong  in  the  nature  of 
man  ? 

Those  disciples  were  called  upon  to  wander  like  their 
Master  through  many  lands  without  homes — oftentimes 
having  not  where  to  lay  their  heads.  For  his  sake  they 
had  forsaken  houses  and  brethren,  sisters,  father,  mother, 
wife,  children,  lands.  They  had  the  promise  that  they 
should  receive  an  hundred-fold  and  inherit  everlasting 
life.  That  receiving  was  not  to  be  for  them  on  this  earth, 
but  in  another  and  better  country;  and  as  I  read  these 
beautiful  words  of  the  Master  I  seem  to  hear  Him  say: 
"Toil  on  !  bear  the  sacrifice  here  !  House  you  may  not 
have  on  earth,  but  there  is  for  you  a  mansion  in  the  hea- 
vens. Here  you  may  have  no  land  that  you  call  your  own, 
but  in  that  '  land  of  pure  delight  where  saints  immortal 
reign  '  there  shall  be  for  you,  yes  an  hundred-fold,  a  pos- 
session, inheritance,  and  portion  in  the  land  of  Heavenly 
Promise,  which  shall  be  yours  forever  and  forever." 

For  myself  I  can  hardly  conceive  of  the  Heavenly  city 
and  the  Heavenly  country  independent  of  some  place  or 
mansion  which  shall  be  my  own,  where  I  may  retire 
from  the  great  crowd — no  less  a  crowd  because  they  are 
of  the  redeemed — and  with  my  friends  and  kindred 
spirits  enjoy  under  my  own  vine  and  fig  tree,  and  under 
my  own  roof,  the  double  joy  of  Home  and  Heaven.  I 
do  not  think  there  is  anything  contrary,  but  much  in  ac- 
cord both  with  human  nature  and  theology  in  the  suppo- 

*John  xiv.  2,  3. 


378  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NATURE. 

sition  that  the  Lord  appealed  to  a  like  feeling  in  the 
breasts  of  his  disciples  when  he  encouraged  them  to  en- 
dure all  loss  and  sacrifice  on  earth  in  view  of  their  own 
promised  place  in  one  of  the  many  mansions  in  the 
Father's  house  in  Heaven.  If  so,  that  very  appeal 
throws  upon  the  principle  on  which  it  is  based  the  great 
authority  of  our  Saviour's  sanction.  He  recognizes  as 
praiseworthy  the  hope  to  hold  one's  own  mansion  in  the 
Heavenly  city;  he  acknowledges  its  lawfulness  by  build- 
ing thereupon  the  aspirations  after  the  rewards  and  joys 
of  immortality  with  God.  It  is  surely  a  fair  inference 
that  the  legal  fact  and  human  sentiment  which  Jesus 
made  the  groundwork  of  a  metaphor  that  holds  out  to 
man  the  promise  of  an  infinitely  holy  home,  could  not 
have  been  believed  by  Him  to  be  unnatural  and  unholy. 
No  !  nor  can  we  for  a  moment  justify  such  a  conclusion  ! 
If  this  conception  have  in  it  aught  of  verity  it  gives 
the  semblance  of  something  more  substantial  than  poetic 
imagery  to  those  hymns  of  the  Church  that  express  the 
sentiment  of  a  personal  home  in  heaven.  Some  of  these 
hymns  are  among  the  most  familiar  and  best  beloved  by 
the  people.     Such  for  example  is  the  one  beginning 

When  I  can  read  my  title  clear 

To  mansions  in  the  skies, 
I  bid  farewell  to  every  fear, 
And  wipe  my  weeping  eyes.* 

Such  also  is  the  hymn, 

On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  T  stand, 

And  cast  a  wishful  eye 
To  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land, 

Where  my  possessions  tie.  f 

.And  now  as  we  bring  these  meditations  to  a  close,  will 
it  not  be  well  for  you  all  to  ask,  have  I  through  faith  in 
Fesus  Christ  and  the  holiness  which  comes  from  faith, 
been  made  meet  to  be  one  of  the  "partakers  of  the  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light"  ?  J  Have  I  secured  for 
myself  "  a  title  clear  "  to  that  heavenly  home  which  the 
Divine  Lord  has  gone  to  prepare  for  those  who  love 
him  ? 

*  Isaac  Watts.     fSAMUEL  Sti.nm.it.     %  Col.  i.  12. 


MA  Y  A  CHRISTIAN  O  WN  LAND  ?  379 

The  thirst  for  land  is  not  unnatural,  at  least  the  de- 
sire for  so  much  of  land  as  shall  constitute  a  home  on 
earth  is  natural  and  praiseworthy.  But  how  many  there 
are  who  in  the  fevered  ambition  to  add  acre  to  acre,  farm 
to  farm,  house  to  house  on  earth,  are  sacrificing  their 
interest  in  that  immortal  Home  without  which  all  earthly 
possessions  can  be  of  little  value  !  "  For  what  shall  it 
profit  a  man,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose 
his  own  soul?*  Vain,  vain  shall  man  be  secure  in  the 
possession  of  an  earthly  inheritance,  if  when  the  last 
hour  comes,  which  surely  and  swiftly  draws  near  to  all, 
he  shall  fall  on  death  without  assurance  that  he  shall 
pass  into  the  heavenly  country  and  the  sweet  possession 
of  a  heavenly  mansion  !  Better,  better  far  to  be  landless 
here  than  Homeless  in  the  Hereafter?  Yet  there  is  no 
reason  why  in  the  exercise  of  a  good  faith  and  good 
conscience,  you  may  not  be  "  true  to  the  kindred  points 
of  Heaven  and  Home." 

*Mark  viii.  36. 


The  End. 


